


No Prisoners

by SilverQuill



Series: No Promises [3]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Read the other two first, Threequel Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 40,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverQuill/pseuds/SilverQuill
Summary: The (very) long-awaited conclusion to the No Promises series! Standing on the brink of war with Auradon, the villains of the Isle find themselves forced to fight to keep their newfound freedom. But for Via, the fight is personal. With her father seemingly won over to the side of good, and her traitorous ex-boyfriend still toying with her heart, Via struggles to unravel the heroes’ mysterious plan...and find answers to a few of the questions still lurking in her family’s past.
Relationships: Lady Caine/Varian (Disney)
Series: No Promises [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1344475
Comments: 57
Kudos: 38





	1. Dreamers and Schemers

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back!
> 
> If there’s anyone still following this series after my insanely long hiatus, you have my eternal gratitude. I’m so sorry for disappearing for so long; life has just kind of sent me on a roller-coaster over the past year or so, and with another author still out there writing fics with my OCs, and hate-mail finding its way to my inbox as a result, it just became too much of a battle to keep writing this series. But at long last, I’m ready to continue! Thanks again if you’re still sticking with me and Via after all this time, and hopefully this final adventure will be worth the wait!

The house was dark. Sinister. Mysterious spikes of black rock had pierced through it here and there, adding to its dilapidated appearance. The hulking bodies of half-destroyed metal creatures littered the ground outside, and a gloomy gray sky painted the place in shadow.

Varian the alchemist made his way slowly up the steps, unnerved by the house’s appearance. He didn’t know what forced him to move, what drew him through the battered door that hung from one twisted hinge. But he could no more resist it than he could sprout wings and fly.

The building baffled him. It was not familiar, and yet it seemed so. Not in his memories, but it felt like it should have been. The upper level, the one he had entered, was neat, almost soldierly in appearance. It was as if its owners had merely stepped away, to return at any moment. Varian paused in front of the long-dead fireplace, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the painting above the mantel. It was merely a square of grey canvas, blurred and blank, but every so often he seemed to see dim shadows of people he had never seen, people he could not name but felt he should have known.

He didn’t remember going downwards, couldn’t recall a staircase or a ladder that took him below, but all of a sudden he stood not in front of the fire, but in a damp, dark basement. As cluttered and chaotic as the upper level had been spartan and clean, it was clear no one had been here for a long time. Cobwebs filled the corners, and a thin layer of dust had settled over every surface. But most unnerving was the items in the room, piled haphazardly on every surface. Vials, notebooks, beakers and droppers and, in the center of the room, a large, imposing something covered with a tattered cloth. This was an alchemist’s laboratory. And, Varian thought, it could almost have been his. Some of the liquids in their glass containers looked similar to his own inventions; others were ideas he might have had himself if he had not seen them here. _What is this place?_

He walked slowly through the room, occasionally running a hand over something on the table- the battered cover of a notebook, the smooth glass of a jar. The strange black spikes were everywhere here, even more prevalent than they had been outside. His main focus, however, was constantly drawn back to that odd, massive cloth-covered shape in the center of the room. He paused in front of it, unsure if he should disturb whatever lay beneath the covering, but there was no one to stop him and at last his curiosity won out. He seized the cloth and tore it free, revealing the mystery it had been protecting.

And then his mouth dropped open. He staggered back a step as a sickening shiver rushed up his spine.

Another black spike, larger and thicker than the rest, jutted upright from the ground. Looming up from the rock, terrible and strange all at once, was a huge chunk of some hard, golden substance almost like amber. But that was not what caused Varian’s reaction of horror.

Frozen inside the amber, eyes wide open and staring straight through him, was a girl. A teenage girl, short and slight, with his blue eyes and his dark, teal-streaked hair and his scattering of freckles across her nose. The expression on her face was one of longing, and one hand- gloved, just like his- was pressed up against the amber as if she wished the divide that separated them would melt away. But at the same time her eyes held a wicked light, a gleam that told him she was capable of far more than she seemed.

Varian had never seen her before. But he suddenly found himself wishing he had, feeling as if it was the most important thing in the world to know who she was.

Her mouth never moved; she was frozen forever in her amber prison. But she spoke all the same, her voice a haunting whisper in his mind.

_Come on, wake up, snap out of it! This isn’t real! They’re tricking you! Wake up! Remember me! I need you!_

“Need me?” he whispered, swallowing hard. “How could you need me? How could I remember you when I’ve never seen you before?”

_Please remember. Remember. Don’t leave me...._

“I don’t know you!” Varian cried, desperate now. “I don’t know who you are!“

Her laugh, sad and wistful but dark and evil too, echoed in his ears. _Of course you do. I’m Via._

Via. He had never heard the name, never met anyone with it, but the sound of it sent another shudder tracing its way up his backbone. Via. Why did he feel like that name should have meant something to him, like it was connected to a part of him that he had never known he was missing?

The scene before him faded a little, and the room seemed to swirl around him, the floor pitching and rolling under his feet as if it had turned suddenly into the deck of a ship. The only thing that didn’t move were Via’s steel-blue eyes, staring into his with an intensity he could never hope to ignore. Her voice came clearly, one more time, in his mind.

_I’m Via. I’m real. Remember me. And wake up._

And Varian did, sitting bolt upright tangled in blankets. For a moment he stared around him in wild confusion, dazed and disoriented and searching desperately for the girl.

And then he remembered. He was on Neverland, in one of Peter Pan’s many hideouts, with the rest of the Auradonian army. There was no dilapidated house, no black spikes, no prisoner in amber. No teenager who looked inexplicably just like him.

“A dream,” he whispered, settling back down on the bed. “She was only a dream.”

But her soft, insistent whisper seemed to come again as he lay there drifting slowly back into sleep. _Remember. I’m Via. I’m real._

* * *

Via slumped down against the cold, clammy stone wall of one of the hallways in Maleficent’s dungeons, letting out a frustrated huff and crossing her arms over her chest. “What’s taking so long?” she demanded irritably, talking to nobody in particular. Rudiger chirped, arching his back against her leg, and she reached out to bury a hand in his fur.

Gavin, leaning against the opposite wall, threw a sympathetic glance in her direction. “I’m sure your mother’s got things handled. Just be patient.”

“I don’t do patient. Villains don’t do patient. And it’s not like Silas could really stand up to Mom screaming at him for an hour. I’ve seen grown men start crying for their mommies once she gets going.”

“Maybe he’s tougher than he looks.”

Via scoffed. “Oh, please. Silas isn’t some fearless knight. He’s nothing but an antihero. A lying, backstabbing, cowardly-“

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that because he’s your ex?”

Via shuddered. “Ugh, don’t use that word. He’s my archnemesis, that’s it.”

Gavin smirked. “Sure. But he’s also your ex, and he almost made a hero out of you.”

“Gavin, I will stab you.”

“Oh, really? I thought poisoned cookies were more your style.”

Via picked up a chunk of rock that had crumbled from the wall and threw it at him. He ducked, and they both laughed for a moment before settling back down into seriousness.

“What we really need to do,” Via said, “is figure out how they made a hero out of my dad. I know he wouldn’t just turn good. There’s no way. Something else is going on and I’m willing to bet Silas knows about it.”

As if on cue, a door slammed farther down in the dungeon, and the angry staccato of Lady Caine’s boots sounded on the stone floors. Via and Gavin scrambled to their feet as she turned the corner, but one look at her face told them that she didn’t come with good news.

“Well, whatever your Prince Charming knows, Vi,” she announced, running a hand through her dark red curls, “he’s definitely not talking. We still don’t have any idea why your father suddenly switched sides and we don’t know why it was so important for the heroes to restore Corona. Especially since we haven’t seen so much as a hint of them anywhere near the place. If Corona was so important that they had to send Silas to magic it back, why are they ignoring it now?”

“So all we do know,” Gavin said, “is that we’re probably facing an all-out war with the heroes. And we’ve got your dad’s automaton suits, Via...”

“But they’ve got Dad,” Via finished. “Giant robots or no giant robots, I don’t like those odds. And I’m not fighting my own father.”

“Believe me, no one’s going to be doing that,” Lady Caine said. “Not until I have undeniable evidence that Varian really has gone over to the side of good. By choice, not by some magical shenanigans like the heroes seem to be so fond of using.”

“I don’t know any magical shenanigans that can change who somebody is.” Via frowned, a crinkle appearing between her eyebrows as she thought. “Dad’s a villain. Period. I don’t know of anything that could change that, unless Rapunzel gave him a really, really convincing speech.”

“Maleficent’s staff could do it,” Gavin pointed out.

“Except it didn’t, because that thing hasn’t left her hand since she left the Isle.”

“How about the Fairy Godmother’s wand?“

“Nope. Powerful, but not powerful enough. Besides, Silas had it.”

“Oh, right.” Gavin drew a deep breath, shoving his glasses farther up onto his noses. “In that case...I’ve got nothing. Obviously the heroes have some plan here, but whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to make any sense, because I can’t even guess what it might be.”

“We won’t get far trying to predict what they’re going to do,” Lady Caine cautioned. “They’re desperate enough to try just about anything at this point.”

“So what are we going to do?” Gavin and Via chorused almost in unison.

“Well, we’re not going to play into their hands, and we’re not going to sit here and wait for them to make a move, either. We don’t know what they’re up to. So we’re going to prepare for anything and everything. We’re going to practice using those automatons until they feel like a part of us. We’re going to set guards up and make sure there’s not a single hero who will get within ten miles of this place without being spotted. We’re going to keep an eye on Corona and figure out why they needed it so badly, and then we’re going to get Varian back.” Lady Caine’s eyes flashed with determination, reminding Via of the feared pirate commander she had once been. “Oh, and Vi, I’ve got a special project for you to work on.”

“What’s that?”

The corner of Caine’s mouth curved up in a smirk. “Well, you might not have noticed, but if it’s going to be war with the heroes, we’re at a little bit of a disadvantage. With a few notable exceptions, we don’t have the kind of powers they do. So we’re going to need some things to level the playing field. Something to deal with Peter Pan and the fairies, first thing, since most of the heroes seem to be on Neverland. And then just work your way down the list and do the best you can to make the powerful heroes- and their kids- not so powerful.”

“Like Elsa and Erika? I’ve got a few ideas for them.”

“Anyone you can do some damage to with that alchemy of yours. No holds barred, understand? There’s nothing off limits now. The heroes are playing dirty, so we’ll play dirtier. They asked for a war and they’re going to get one. And by the time we’re done with this, I don’t want anyone to even remember what a happily ever after is unless it belongs to a villain.”


	2. Gavin Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via throws herself into preparations for the coming war, but she may have bitten off more than she can chew. A concerned Gavin finally convinces her to take a break...and pay a visit to Corona.

There was no knock on Via's door in the morning, no call from her mother to get ready for school at New Dragon Hall. There was no time for school anymore. Since the day the pirate ship had limped into the harbor, carrying the news that Varian had betrayed them, any concept of "normal" had been thrown out the window. The villains had no intention of going back to the Isle, and now that they knew the massive scale of the heroes' rising resistance, they had devoted every waking moment to preparations for war. Those who had magic or powers of some kind dusted them off and found ways to improve on them, while those who didn't were advised to find some sort of weapon and learn how to use it, fast. Strangely, the threat of re-imprisonment had brought a new sense of camaraderie to the villains, and it wasn't unusual to hear one villain calling out a word of encouragement to another, usually in the form of what they would do the heroes once the war was finally over.

  
And Via? Via had fallen back into her father's old habits. For the past three days she had slept little and ate less, her room transformed into the utterly unorganized chaos of an alchemist's laboratory as she worked feverishly to bolster the villains' defenses any way she could think of. Rudiger stayed with her, sometimes watching her from somewhere in the clutter and sometimes curled up on her shoulder like a comforting, fluffy scarf. Gavin was there most of the time too, doing his best to stay awake and not always managing it. Lady Caine made occasional visits when she wasn't whipping her pirates into shape, as did Mother Gothel, bearing bowls of hazelnut soup that always came with a side of apple slices for Rudiger (who she still referred to as "Rutherford" despite Gavin's numerous attempts to correct her). Once even Maleficent had paid a visit to the young alchemist, a visit Via would never forget. "Just walk me through everything you've got, my dear," she had purred. "If I'm going to lead us to victory, I need to know what I have to work with."

  
Via had been more than happy to comply with the request. In fact, Via had never been more in her element. Their family had always done well under pressure, and Via was no exception. She had never felt so prepared for something, so in control. She was doing what she loved, and she was doing it well. They had a war to win, the most wicked war in history, and when it was over she would have her happy ending. She would have her father back. With that as the end goal, Via felt she could do anything. Under the stress of the coming conflict, she flourished. Her ideas had never come so quickly and her hands had never moved so fast. Scraps of paper covered the desk and the walls, covered in hastily scribbled plans for new projects. Most were barely coherent, but they made sense in Via's mind. _Need something to counteract pixie dust_ , one read. _Can't have our whole_ _army floating away._ Another read simply _something that melts ice. Quick._ And still another said _Mal's dragon fire- can my amber stop it?_

  
Most of what Via was working on were weapons designed to target the strengths of different heroes, and she and Gavin spent plenty of time wracking their brains to make sure there was no one they'd forgotten. The powerless heroes could be taken care of by Lady Caine's pirates or Maleficent's goblins, and the magical villains could handle the heavy hitters like Merlin or Fairy Godmother, but everyone else would more than likely require one of Via's alchemical creations to defeat. Once they'd finished the list of heroes the villains would need to defend against, Via would have to be ready for the even harder part of the job- coming up with defenses, and attacks, that would actually work.

  
_Ready as I'll ever be._

  
But by the time the third day was drawing to a close, and they had finally finished the list of everything Via had to do in order for the villains to have a chance, her enthusiasm was wearing thin. There was a lot of work ahead of her; she hadn't realized just how much responsibility had fallen on her shoulders now that Varian was gone. She drew a long sigh, flopping down onto the desk and sending papers flying. Gavin chuckled from his spot on her bed. "Finally getting tired?"

  
"Yeah," Via answered. "This is...well, this isn't gonna be easy without Dad. And I haven't even had the time to think about Corona. Ordinarily I'd have a dozen theories by now about why the heroes needed it so badly."

  
"Well, then..." Gavin hopped off the bed, grabbing the long rope he'd curled over the bedpost. It had become his favorite weapon since he'd used it to defeat Silas. "Let's go give the place the old once-over. See what we can see, hmm?"

  
"Oh, no, Gavin, I can't. I've got to get started on all of this."

  
"Via." Gavin reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, staring deep into her eyes. "There's something you need to do. It's the thing you did to take Silas down, and it's time you do it again."

  
Via blinked. "Make poisoned cookies?"

  
"No. Listen to me." Gavin smiled. "I'm not a genius, not like you anyway. But I have some good ideas once in a while, and right now I'm having another one. You're wearing yourself out locked away in here, and it's not good for you. Seriously, I'm worried you're gonna blow something up by mistake. Let's get you out for a bit."

  
"There's a war going on. I have to make sure we win it."

  
"And this will do that! We've got to figure out Corona's piece of the puzzle sooner or later, so let's do it now and get you some fresh air and a break from all this clutter into the bargain. We can take Axel. What do you say?"

  
There were times when Gavin could make himself very hard to refuse, and this proved to be one of those times. His blue eyes had the same _Can we go for a walk? Can we, can we, can we, huh?_ look as an excited puppy. And he was right, scouting out Corona would be helping the war effort...

  
Via shook her head, scooping a sleeping Rudiger up from a pile of books and arranging him like a scarf around her shoulders. He barely stirred, opening one eye and patting lightly at her cheek for a moment before settling back to sleep with a soft purring sound. "Sometimes, Gavin Gothel," Via declared, "you are a terrible influence."

  
"Thank you. But I don't see why that matters in your case. How much worse can you get?"

"Oh, challenge accepted."

  
Gavin pretended to shudder. "Now I've done it. Look out, Auradon."

  
They laughed together as they headed out the door, Via only pausing to grab a satchel full of alchemical "doohickeys and thingamajigs" as Lady Caine referred to them. The satchel had become her signature weapon just as Gavin's rope was his. And in a place like Corona, magically restored by the one person Via was beginning to hate more than any other, you could never be too careful.

  
It was just past noon, but it seemed darker than that. The weather had been cloudy lately, and the sky above them was a soft gray, hiding the sun. Soon enough it would be winter. _As if I didn't already have an ice problem._

  
Via didn't realize she had said the words aloud until Gavin looked at her quizzically. "Huh?"

  
"Oh. Nothing. Just thinking about something."

  
"That something wouldn't happen to be the ice-melting alchemy you're supposed to be coming up with, would it?" At Via's sheepish look, Gavin sighed. "Come on, Vi. Get your head out of that laboratory just for a little bit. It's been ages since you and I got to focus on anything else. As your very concerned best friend, I insist you take a break from even thinking about alchemy until we're back from Corona. You owe me this."

  
After the way Via had treated Gavin with Silas in her life, she owed him a lot more than that. And though Gavin had very easily forgiven her for all of it, he was still a villain, and he wasn't above reminding her of the way she'd acted when he wanted her to listen to him. He was a bit manipulative like that; it was the one way he took after his mother. Luckily, listening to Gavin usually worked out in Via's favor, so she couldn't resent him for it.

  
"Okay," she said, swinging aboard her mother's horse and holding out a hand to help Gavin into the saddle behind her. "No alchemy until we get back. I-"

  
"Do _not_ say I promise."

  
"Oops. Yeah, you're right. Those two words seem to be the family curse." Via reached up and tapped Rudiger's paw, letting him know to hang on, and then urged Axel into a quick canter. Via wasn't exactly a cautious rider, and she didn't slow Axel down a bit as they turned into the main street, sending other villains running to get out of their way. In the new spirit of unity that had taken over the former Isle prisoners, though, nobody minded, and one or two called out a word of encouragement as they recognized Via.

  
"Look at that," Gavin pointed out. "You're still a celebrity. People still can't stop talking about what you did at Cotillion."

  
Via snorted. "Yeah. Everybody loves a disaster story. And a failed romance? That's just the icing on the cake."

  
"You're still not quite over him, are you?"

  
"What was your first clue?"

  
Via couldn't see Gavin's face, but she knew he'd be rolling his eyes. "Well, I was over him a long time ago," he said.

  
"Since the day you intentionally got his name wrong and told him to stop with the mumbling. Your mom would have been proud if she'd seen that."

  
"Eh. Some of her old one-liners come in handy sometimes. You know what they say. Mother knows best and all." Suddenly Gavin made a little gasp, the signal that he'd had an idea. "Ooh, I know what you should do! You should do one of your dad's lines! The next time your mom goes to yell at Silas, you go with her. And you walk right in there, punch him right in the middle of his very handsome and very aggravating face, and then you say "I always knew I could sweep you off your feet." Like your dad did with Cassandra!"

  
Via couldn't help laughing at the mental image _that_ conjured up. "I think that line works better if you're in a giant robot while you say it. But I'll give it a shot."

  
"Good. And have your mom take pictures. I want to see the look on his face."

  
"Now who sounds like they're not over Silas?" Via teased. Gavin punched her lightly in the shoulder, and they laughed together. It was the first time, since the raiding party had returned without her father, that Via had felt something that felt like...normal.

  
They fell silent for the rest of the ride, until finally Gavin spoke up. All the laughter was gone from his voice. "Vi. We're here."

  
And they certainly were. There in front of them was the familiar array of houses and roads and shops that Silas had magically restored on that awful Cotillion night, headed by the teal roofs of the Corona castle and interspersed, everywhere they looked, with sharp spikes of blue-black rock. Via hated those rocks, as useful as they had been to her. Those rocks were a reminder of the first broken promise, the first betrayal that had sent her family on the path to where they were today. But she shook off the uncomfortable feeling, dismounting quickly and looping Axel's reins around the branch of a tree. "Well, it won't do us any good to sit here staring. Come on. Let's see what secrets my old hometown might tell us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels so good to be getting back into this series again, y'all. On a side note, Mondays will probably be my update days, so be on the lookout for new chapters on Mondays! I don't think it has to be said that this little Corona field trip is not gonna go the way Via and Gavin have planned, so I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have on what's about to happen! And don't worry; we'll be getting back to Varian soon enough.


	3. And You're Not In It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via and Gavin stumble onto a pair of unwelcome intruders in Corona, one of whom reveals a secret that rocks Via's world.

Since Silas had brought Corona back on that fateful Cotillion night, the villains had had sentries posted around the place, keeping a sharp eye out for any heroes that might try to sneak in and get whatever it was they needed from the town. But once again, Via being Via came in handy, and she and Gavin were allowed to pass unchecked.

  
And there was one word that came to mind to describe what they saw. "Creepy," Via said aloud. Corona may have been restored from the blast of Maleficent's magic that had leveled it, but that didn't mean its citizens had returned. The streets were deserted, the houses quiet. The black rocks stood like eerie watchers, glistening in the few rays of sunlight that managed to slip through the gray, sullen sky. With the exception of Via and Gavin, nothing moved or made a sound.

  
"Just what I was thinking," Gavin agreed. "So what do you think we're looking for?"

  
"I have no idea. It doesn't even make any sense why they'd want this place. It's not like they can get in. We're guarding it round the clock."

  
"But the guards are just a few of your mom's pirates, and we both know that they're, well, not the sharpest crayons in the box. Do you think they're counting on someone slipping through and infiltrating our ranks until they get what they want? Unnoticed, like Silas did?"

  
Via gritted her teeth. "If that's the plan, it's not gonna work on me. I won't get fooled by some stupid antihero twice."

  
"And I don't think they'd expect you to. If there's one thing the heroes should know by now, it's how smart you are. So I bet they're planning something else."

  
"Which means we're back to square one. What are they planning?"

  
Gavin shrugged. "Somehow I get the feeling we won't find out until they spring their trap. Or unless Silas suddenly starts talking, which I doubt. He's tough, for an Auradon pretty boy. I would have melted like butter if your mom had been glaring at me like that."

  
"That's the problem with heroes. They never give up even when it's about time they did." She glanced around her, stepping gingerly out of the way of a black rock spike. "I'll say one thing for Silas, though. He definitely did his job right. Every last detail is exactly the way it was, just as if Maleficent never blasted this place. Hey, here's an idea- why don't we just have her do that again? That way, whatever the heroes need from Corona, they won't be able to get it."

  
Suddenly Gavin skidded to a halt, pushing his glasses up as his blue eyes went wide. Via stared at him confusedly. "What's wrong?"

  
"Shut up."

  
"Well, geez, you don't have to-"

  
"No, no. Shh." He held up one finger, his brow knit in concentration. After a moment, he shook his head. "I thought I heard..."

  
"What?" Via whispered.

  
"Footsteps," Gavin answered.

  
"Following us?"

  
"No. Up ahead. Really quiet ones, too."

  
For a moment the two of them stood there, both of them listening intently. And then Via heard it too. The brush of a footstep, a small, metallic clink, and a soft sound that might have been two people whispering together.

  
Her own eyes just as wide as Gavin's were, Via dropped her own voice until it was barely audible. "It's coming from up ahead, behind that old house. So much for "they won't try to sneak in."

  
"They don't know we're here," Gavin replied. "Should we..."  
"You bet we should. If we're quiet we can surprise them. Have that rope ready in case they try a quick getaway." Via flipped open the top of her satchel and closed her hand around one of the glass spheres nestled inside. This one was the kind that exploded into red-hot goo, the kind she had promised her dad she would always carry with her. Whoever it was around the corner, they were in for a very unpleasant surprise.

  
Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, the two of them crept forward. Via took the lead, moving a bit faster than Gavin did. As she approached the corner of the house, she paused a minute, listening. She was close enough to make out the hushed whispers now. Two female voices. The first was serious and proper, almost stiff.

  
"Do you really think he can break this?"

  
The second voice answered, still a girl's voice, but deeper, hard and cold. Via's brow furrowed. She had the sudden feeling that she'd heard that voice before, but she couldn't place it. "He has to. Otherwise she can use that little amber trick of hers to make sure we don't stand a chance." _Okay, so they're obviously talking about me. But who's "he?" And what does "he" have to break?_

  
"I still don't think it's the best idea. We need something more reliable. What if we can't actually count on him? What if the wand didn't work? What if he's just playing along, putting on an act like she did?"

  
"He might be. That's why my mother doesn't let him out of her sight. If he tries to betray us, he won't get far. Now come on, give me a little more. I've almost cut through it."

  
Via had absolutely no idea what any of that cryptic conversation meant, but she decided it had gone on long enough. A sharp crackling sound followed the words, which gave Via the perfect chance to leap around the corner with the element of surprise firmly on her side and Gavin on her heels.

  
The scene in front of her made her jaw drop. A tall, willowy girl with white-blond hair stood behind a half-frozen spike of black rock, her hands extended. Another girl, this one dressed in armor, had been kneeling at the base of the rock with a knife in her hand. She whirled around at Via's sudden appearance, her green eyes flooding with hatred.

  
"Caden!" Via shouted, at the same time as Gavin cried "Erika!"

  
And from that moment on, everything was chaos. The guilty parties were on their feet in seconds, abandoning whatever it was they had been up to with the rock. The knife fell from Caden's hand as she ripped her sword free of the scabbard and lunged for Gavin, teeth bared in a snarl. Erika brought her hands up sharply, sending a beam of ice straight at Via's chest. Via threw the exploding ball in the nick of time; the red-hot liquid met the center of the ice stream, melting it into nonexistence and throwing Erika backward with the force of the collision. The Arendelle princess was clearly dazed, and Via forgot her for a moment, jumping to Gavin's aid against the far more combat-capable Caden.

  
"I guess you didn't get the message when Silas didn't come back with a newly-redeemed me in tow," Via growled. "Auradon belongs to us now. And you and all your hero friends aren't welcome here anymore."

  
"Don't get too comfortable," Caden shot back. "You'll be back on the Isle soon enough."

  
"Not if I can help it," Gavin piped up, expertly flicking the long, knotted rope into the air. It wrapped itself around Caden's wrist, and he pulled sharply backwards in an attempt to jerk her off-balance, but Caden, thanks to her mother, was a better fighter than either Gavin or Via. She simply looped the rope around the black rock, using Gavin's own momentum against him and sending him flying. "Not so scary when you're out of the tower, are you, Gavin Gothel?" she taunted. Ever the hero, she paused a moment to help Erika up. Via took advantage of the opportunity, grabbing another exploding ball and launching it at the two AKs. But this time Erika was ready, freezing an icy shell around it before it could explode.

  
Caden grinned, shoving a lock of her straight dark hair out of her face. "Aww, you've lost your touch, ViVi. It must be hard having to do things on your own now that you don't have Daddy around."

  
Via clenched her jaw. "What did you do to him?" she growled.

  
"Nothing much. And nothing like what we should have done to a villain like him. He got lucky. Rapunzel's a bit more forgiving than I would have been if it had been up to me. I'd take a message back from you..." She shrugged a shoulder, smiling a smile as cruel as any villain's. "But then again, it wouldn't do much good. He wouldn't know who it was from."

  
Via faltered, a glass ball still in her hand, poised for the throw. "What are you talking about?"

  
"Oh, that's right. You don't know magic. You're the science type. Well, you see, magic can do a lot of things. If you've got the right kind, you can even rewrite history. You can't change the way things were, of course, but you can make it seem like you did. You can change memories. And that's just what we've done for your father. We went above and beyond that, actually. As far as he knows, he never went crazy, never turned on Rapunzel, never got shipped off to the Isle. We gave him the perfect life." Her smile spread wider, and she leaned close, her voice malicious and mocking. " _And you're not in it._ "

  
The world seemed to tilt sideways, and Via stumbled back. She felt suddenly cold, and not just because of Erika's ice. She fought to wrap her mind around what Caden was saying, to make it make sense, but it made no sense.

  
"Don't get me wrong," Caden continued. "It didn't have to be that way. We didn't have to make him forget you. If you'd just listened to Silas and done what you were supposed to do, you and your dad would be together right now. But you loved being evil a little too much. You made your choice. Which means, when we erased all the wickedness and evil from his mind, we had to erase you, too."

  
The words were cold and callous and cruel, and they invaded Via's thoughts, pounding in her head until she couldn't focus on anything else. She stumbled backward, blindly, too numb even for tears. Her back hit wood; she had backed up against the twisted, gnarled bark of an ancient and long-dead oak tree. Elsa's daughter seized her chance, throwing her hands forward in Via's direction with a sharp cry, but Via didn't even try to twist out of the way. She barely felt the impact, was barely aware of the ice as it wrapped around her waist, pinning her to the tree. She didn't feel anything now. Nothing registered, nothing penetrated the sudden fog. Nothing but the dull, repetitive plea in her mind, keeping time with her rapid heartbeat. _No, no, no._

  
The world was still in motion. She saw Caden send Gavin sprawling to the ground, saw Erika extend her hands and finish freezing the rock. She saw Caden slice through the stone in one triumphant, victorious motion, carving off a sizable chunk of the inky blackness, and she watched as the two AKs vanished into the trees with their prize. She didn't question why they needed it, barely registered Gavin picking himself up, shaking her shoulder, pleading with her to tell her what had happened and if she was alright.

  
Alright? No, she wasn't alright. She would never be alright again. Varian. She had known there was something going on, known that he would never willingly choose the side of good, but she had never imagined something like this. She had never dreamed that they'd wipe her from her father's memory. She had never thought that people who called themselves good would ever go so far. Like a terrible chorus, Caden's words kept echoing, over and over and over in her mind. _A happy ending...the perfect life..._

  
_...And you're not in it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, all I can say is, this chapter hurt to write. A lot. But Via had to find out what was up with Varian somehow, so I decided to have that happen sooner rather than later. Also, you may have noticed a couple familiar faces in this chapter that we haven't seen in a while. I know I said Caden and Cassandra wouldn't be a part of this story after the events of the end of Season Two, but you know what? Forget what I said. For the sake of this story, we're just going to pretend that Destinies Collide and everything after it, plus Descendants 3, just...didn't happen. Canon Divergence, y'all. And in Erika's case, I wrote her out for obvious reasons, and I really didn't intend to bring her back in at all. Out of sight, out of mind was kinda my principle there. But this is the final installment of a series that's taken me years to write, and I finally decided to finish things with the same cast I started with. So there'll be a lot of reappearances from people who haven't shown up in this series for awhile, and a couple of newcomers too!
> 
> So how will Via react to finding out she's been wiped from her father's mind? Why did Caden and Erika need that rock anyway? And is that the only business the heroes have in Corona? I'd love to hear any thoughts you have!


	4. Next Moves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of an unlikely ally, Via and Gavin explain the truth to Via's mother...and plan out their next steps toward defeating the heroes once and for all.

Via had no idea how she made it back to what had once been Auradon, back to her street. All she knew was that without Gavin, she wouldn't have. The world was a blur around her, her mind trapped in a numb, foggy haze. Somehow he managed to get her back on the horse, asking questions just to keep her talking and break her out of the shock she was in. She answered those questions, barely aware of what she was saying, her fingers twisted in Rudiger's fur as if the little raccoon was the only thing she still had to hold onto. She was suddenly tired, more tired than she had ever been in her life; she wanted nothing more than to stumble up the stairs, collapse into bed and wake up in the morning to find that this had all been a terrible dream.

  
But a villain was nothing if not resilient, and Via had experienced enough shock and bad news in her life to shake off the initial surge of emotion, at least temporarily. She managed to wake herself up as Gavin turned Axel onto her familiar street. And it seemed they weren't the only ones who had been paying visits today. Stepping out of Via's house, to her surprise, was a very familiar VK with a mass of turquoise braids shoved under a ragged pirate hat. 

  
Uma and Via had never been particularly close. Via was an alchemist, not a pirate, and she and her father had kept to themselves on the Isle, which meant the two girls didn't often run in the same circles. But Via and Uma had both been outcasts on the Isle, rejected from Mal and her circle, so they had occasionally found themselves in each other's company and managed to get along.

  
"Uma," Gavin greeted. He sounded tired himself, Via noticed. It had been a difficult day for the both of them. "What are you doing here?"

  
"Oh, just talking over pirate stuff with Lady C, since there's a war about to start and all," Uma answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Nothing exciting. Just needed to know what my crew and I are supposed to be doing in the middle of all this." She took a closer look at Via's face, and her eyes went wide. "Whoa. You alright there, Blue?"

  
Via managed a wan smile at the pirate's usual nickname for her. "I'm fine. Or at least, I will be."

  
"We went back to Corona," Gavin explained. "And ran into a couple of good kids with bad news."

  
"I don't even know how I'm going to tell my mom about this," Via confessed, dismounting shakily from the horse. "This...changes things."

  
"This is one story I've gotta hear," Uma said. "You mind?"

  
Via shrugged. "I don't care. The word's gonna have to get out sooner or later." She led the way up the steps of the house, Rudiger winding himself around her neck as she went.

  
Lady Caine glanced up from the papers covering the table, her eyes widening just as Uma's had. "What on earth..."

"I'm fine, Mom," Via reassured her. "Just a little shaken up, that's all. We had company in Corona today."

  
"Wait, what? What were you two doing in Corona?"

  
"Just looking around," Gavin said. "It was my idea. I thought Via needed to get out of the lab for a bit, and scoping out Corona would do that while still making ourselves useful. I never thought something like this would happen. I'm sorry."

  
"Don't be," Lady Caine said, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "I would have thought along the same lines, and by the sound of it, it was a good thing you kids were there when you were. If this information's really so important, it's a good thing we've gotten it early in the game. What's this 'company' you ran into?"

  
"Cassandra's daughter Caden and Elsa's daughter Erika," Gavin said. "They needed one of those black rocks for something, I guess. Turns out that magical ice makes those things weaker somehow, because Caden cut right through it."

  
"And they got away?"

Via nodded. "Yeah. After what Caden let slip-"

  
"She didn't just let it slip," Gavin interjected. "She really loved getting the chance to rub it in our faces."

  
"Regardless. I couldn't really bring myself to finish the fight after that."

  
"Doesn't sound like you," Uma commented. "Your family's not usually one to back down from things."

  
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Lady Caine said, her face knitting into a look of concern. "What in heaven's name did this girl tell you, Vi?"

  
Via drew a long sigh. "You're gonna want to sit down for this one, Mom."

  
With Gavin interjecting in places, and Rudiger winding around everyone's ankles as he sensed the tension in the air, Via poured out the whole story, sparing no detail and repeating Caden's words verbatim. It wasn't a hard task; they'd been echoing in her head like a taunting chorus ever since she'd left Corona. _And you're not in it..._

  
When she finally finished, holding back tears, there was a long, heavy silence in the kitchen. No one spoke, and no one moved, stunned by the story. And then Lady Caine's fist crashed down on the table, making them all jump. Her eyes flashed, her fingers twitching as if they itched to be holding a sword. Via had seen her mother angry before, but not like this. Never like this. Lady Caine's voice, when she spoke, wasn't the usual shout of rage that might be expected from a villain. Instead, it was low and steely and cold, which, as far as Via was concerned, was even more terrifying. She said only five words.

  
"Run that by me again."

  
"They used magic," Via repeated. "To...to rewrite Dad's memories. He doesn't remember that Rapunzel broke her promise, so as far as he knows, he was never a villain, never went to the Isle...never raised me. He doesn't remember me." Her voice, despite her best efforts, cracked with emotion, and she furiously ordered herself to keep it together. _Come on, Via. Get a grip._

  
"Which means he probably doesn't remember you either, Lady C," Uma pointed out. Via hadn't even thought about that, but the pirate was right. There was no way the heroes would remove one evil family member from Varian's memories and leave the other. An even more disturbing thought crashed into her head. Varian's path to evil had begun after that terrible accident with Via's grandfather. Had they forced him to forget that, too? Did he even remember his own father? How deep did the damage of this rewritten history go?

  
"Yeah. You're probably right." Lady Caine's face was a thundercloud. "I just...I can't believe this. I can't believe they can call themselves "good" and still do things like this. Like the Isle. They wanna know why we're out here being villains? Because it's better than being one of them." She clenched a fist, dropping her head into her other hand as if she felt a sudden headache coming on. "Via, honey...I'm sorry. We'll find a way to fix this, just like we always do. We're not just gonna let this happen, alright?"

  
"It already happened," Via said bitterly.

  
"Then we'll find a way to reverse it," Gavin reassured her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on. You of all people should know there's ways to fight magic. What about that truth serum of yours? It worked on Silas. And whatever kind of historical gymnastics they did, there's no denying what the truth really is. Varian's still a villain even if he doesn't remember that. If we could get the truth serum to your dad somehow, would it, ya know, reverse things? Wake him up to the real reality?"

  
"That's not the way it works," Via said. "The truth serum works in the mind. If you believe something's true, that's what the truth serum is gonna make you say. So as long as he believes he's not a villain, not my dad, then even the truth serum won't work, because he'll be saying what he thinks is the truth."

  
"That's...confusing. And unfortunate. Well, okay, there's still gotta be another way."

  
"If there is," Via said, "then I don't know it. I wouldn't even know where to start. And we don't even know how much time we'll have before the heroes mount their first attack, anyway. Once they finish whatever they're doing with that rock- or get Dad to do it for them- they'll make their first move. And once that happens, I'll have no choice but to fight my own father if I want to avoid being trapped on the Isle again."

  
"That's not gonna happen," Gavin said. "Your dad's not to blame for any of this. He's still one of us on the inside, and we're not gonna let him get caught in the crossfire."

  
"Speaking of which," Uma piped up, "I could start spreading the word about what happened, if you want. Like you said, it's gonna come out eventually. And there's more than one person out there who still thinks Varian's a traitor who switched sides because he wanted to. This...this'll debunk that. And it'll make pretty much everyone angry, which is another thing we need. We can't be divided anymore. Evil's gotta come together if we wanna have any chance at all. Lucky for us, by going after one of our own, good just gave us something we can all be angry at."

  
Via smiled faintly. "Thanks, Uma. That would help, not having to tell everyone myself."

  
"No problem. Consider it done. By the end of tonight, everyone who ever set foot on the Isle is gonna know what the heroes have been up to. And I promise, Blue, even the ones who didn't like your father aren't gonna let this stand." She pushed her chair back, tipping her ragged hat to the three of them as she slipped out the door.

  
For a moment silence reigned again. It was Gavin, this time, who broke it. "I can leave, if you want," he offered, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I know this is a...family matter."

  
"And you're practically family," Via said.

  
"Are you sure?"

  
"Gavin," Lady Caine interrupted. "You do realize that Via would never have gotten back here if it wasn't for you? You've done more than enough to be included in this. And Via's right. You're practically family. So I say this exactly the way I would say it to my own family- sit down and shut up so we can figure out what our next move is."

  
Though Gavin smiled at the words, he still looked uncertain. Via reached out and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him down beside her. "Stay," she said softly. "Please."

  
Finally, Gavin relented. "Okay," he said. "So. Next moves?"

  
"Let's take it one step at a time," Lady Caine said. "Via, I know you pretty well by now and I know the first thing you want to do is get up to that lab and find some way to reverse this whole nightmare. But hold off on that. There are a couple of other things we've got to take care of first. Even though Uma's handling the job of getting the word out on what's happened, there's one person who should probably hear it from me. Maleficent. She is, technically, in charge of the place, so however we respond to this is gonna be up to her."

  
"I was hoping you'd say that," Via said, picking Rudiger up and setting him on her shoulder. "Actually, I think we should head to Maleficent's castle right now."

  
"Whoa," Gavin said. "Via, are you sure about that? It's been...well, one heck of a day. Don't you want to get some rest first?"

  
"This is more important. You need to talk to Maleficent, Mom." Via curled her own hand into a fist that matched Lady Caine's.

  
"And I need to talk to Silas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter's a little late, guys! I've had an absolutely crazy weekend. But an update has arrived, and with it, a very anticipated character! I had someone point out to me, way back in Book Two, that Uma and Via would probably get along thanks to them both being outcasts on the Isle, and the idea was one of the things I wanted to explore in this final installment. And now I've finally gotten the chance to do that! There'll be a lot more familiar faces popping up, so stay tuned! And I'd love to hear your comments!


	5. I Know Something You Don't Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian receives a new assignment and begins to wonder if there’s more to the story than he’s being told. Meanwhile, Cassandra comes up with a damage-control plan that has Rapunzel worried.

Varian ran a hand through his dark hair, blowing a wayward strand of it out of his face. He’d almost nodded off a moment ago; preparing for a war was more exhausting than he’d thought it would be, and there were a thousand and one tasks that he was responsible for. There was very little time to sleep. And even when he did, there were still those strange, recurring nightmares to deal with, about the girl who looked unnervingly like him...

  
The door of his makeshift laboratory creaked open, and a familiar face poked into the room. “How’s it going?” Cassandra asked, propping one hand on her hip as she crossed the room to glance over the cluttered chaos of experiments that covered his desk.

  
Varian sighed. “As well as it can be, I guess. This is a lot of work. Those villains have so many different powers, and I’ve got to come up with some way to fight every single one. I’m wearing myself out.”

  
“Well, try not to take a break unless you have to. We’re running out of time.”

  
“I know, I know. I’m gonna do my part, Cass, I promise. This is the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced. Besides, I owe it to you and Rapunzel and Eugene. You were the only ones who were there for me when I lost my father. I mean, you practically took me in. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to repaying that debt.”

  
“No one asked you to repay it,” Cassandra said. She seemed about to say something else, but a distant door banged open, and two sets of footsteps echoed down the hallway. The door to the laboratory was the next one thrown open, and a voice called out.

  
“Mom? We’re back. And we got it.”

  
Both Varian and Cass turned around as Cassandra’s daughter Caden backed carefully into the room, her hands wrapped around a very unusual piece of rock. Erika, a young princess Varian was only vaguely familiar with, held the other end. It was long, bluish black, with a wicked point and a jagged edge at the base where it had been cut. 

  
“Oh, I’ve seen these,” Varian said, stepping closer for a better look at the odd object. “They’re all over Corona, aren’t they? But perfectly harmless, King Frederic said.”

  
“King Frederic was right,” Cass replied, taking the weight of the stone from the two girls. “They’re nothing to worry about. At least, not by themselves. But we’ve still got someone on the inside in Auradon, remember?”

  
Varian had heard about that. As the son of Eugene’s ex-girlfriend, a boy named Silas had been deemed an antihero, the perfect candidate to infiltrate the ranks of the escaped villains. He’d been gone a long time, and his occasional visits back to the heroes’ camp had come to a stop, but according to Cassandra, messages still arrived from him regularly.

  
“What’s Silas got to do with it?” Varian asked, raising an eyebrow.

  
“He says there’s a villain out there who can weaponize these things. Make them impenetrable. Swords, shields, even fortresses- she can do it all. All she needs is a little liquid amber, and we’re in a whole mess of trouble.” Cass jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the experiments on Varian’s desk. “So, now that we’ve got this, you can forget everything else you’re working on. Let the fairies handle it. We need an expert like you working on the rock problem.”

  
“Liquid amber?” Varian questioned, helping Cassandra stand the rock up properly and tapping a knuckle against it. “Sounds pretty dangerous if you ask me. Who knows how these things would react to something like that?”

  
“They’ve reacted in this particular villain’s favor,” Cassandra said.

  
“Speaking of that,” Caden interrupted, “we actually ran into her. Her and her little henchman. They surprised us.”

  
“But she escaped?”

  
“It was either we take her or we take the rock. We decided this was more important,” Erika said in her usual formal, frigid way. “Did we make a mistake?”

  
“No,” Cassandra said. “No, you didn’t. You did the right thing. We’ll catch up with her sooner or later.”

  
“Erika iced her,” Caden put in. “So she didn’t follow us.”

  
“It was only temporary,” the Arendellian princess said quickly.

  
“Good enough for the job,” Caden said, shrugging a shoulder. “Unfortunately, Mom, she did...find out a couple things.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened. “What kind of things?”

  
Varian, who had already been confused by the conservation and only barely managed to follow along, now found himself more confused than ever. Every so often, he’d noticed, Caden and Cassandra would have an entire conversation just with their eyes. Maybe it was a mother-daughter thing, but he did feel left in the dark every once in a while, as if there was something the other heroes knew that he did not.

  
“Okay,” Cassandra said finally. “I guess that’s not so bad. It might even buy us a little more time. And Erika, it’s good that we know your ice can break those rocks. But right now, it takes too long. I’d like to talk to your mother and see if she has any ideas on how to speed up the process.”

  
“Of course,” Erika said. “She’d be glad to help.”

  
“Then let’s go talk to her,” Cassandra said. “And while we’re on the way there, I want to hear a few more details about what exactly happened out there today.”

“Let me know what you find out,” Varian said. “And if you can get the fairies working on the rest of all this, Cass, I’d much appreciate it.”

  
“Sure,” Cassandra said, starting across the room after her daughter and Erika. Halfway across the floor she turned back. “Don’t worry about anything but that rock right now. Breaking that thing is the best way you can help us, kid.”

  
“Uh, Cass? I’m in my thirties. Can you really still call me kid?”

  
“Maybe not,” Cassandra said, smirking. “But I’m gonna do it anyway.”

* * *

Somehow, when the going got rough, Rapunzel always found herself in the same place. As rough and wild as Neverland was, there were places to paint anywhere in the world, and she had found a smooth wall of rock that suited her purposes. It was almost mindless for her, her hands moving automatically as she tried to take her mind off things.

  
“We might have a problem.” Cass’ voice, from behind, startled her. She dropped the brush with a yelp, scrambling to pick it up.

  
“Sorry,” Cassandra said. Rapunzel tucked a lock of hair- short and brown again, thankfully- behind her ear, laughing nervously.

  
“It’s alright. I guess I’m just a bit jumpy with the whole war going on and everything. What’s the problem?”

  
“Varian’s daughter.” Cassandra’s eyes had the steely look they always did when the teenage alchemist came up in conversation. “Apparently Erika and Caden ran into her today while they were back in Corona.”

  
“Oh my gosh, are they alright? I knew that was a bad idea, we should never have sent them back there. I mean, ever since Silas disappeared-“

  
“Raps. They’re fine. What’s a little less fine is the fact that Via somehow figured out what we did with Varian.”

  
Rapunzel blinked. “That doesn’t sound like much of a problem.”

  
“It is if she shows up here trying to get him back. How do we explain to Varian about this random girl who just so happens to look exactly like him right down to the hair streak?”

  
“Oh. Good point.”

  
“It wouldn’t be so bad if we could be sure he didn’t remember her, but we don’t know how deep the mind-wipe goes. We don’t know if this magic is going to hold. Seeing her again, it might...trigger something. We just can’t trust him, period.”

  
Rapunzel didn’t answer right away, heaving a deep sigh and staring out at the crystal clear waters of Neverland’s ocean for a long moment before she responded. “Are we even doing the right thing here, Cass? If I’m being honest, I kind of regret what we did.”

  
“Regret it? Why would you regret it? Don’t you like having him back? Having him as our friend again, the way it used to be?”

  
“Of course I do. That part of it has been wonderful. But...” She sighed again. “But it’s not real, Cass. None of it is real. And when I think about my parents...if I’d found them again, only to realize they didn’t even remember me...it would have destroyed me. I’ve got a daughter of my own. I’d never want to live without her, even if I didn’t know what I was missing. I just can’t convince myself that this is right.”

  
“Maybe it isn’t,” Cassandra said. “But this is war, Rapunzel. And sometimes in war you have to make tough decisions. It’s not like we didn’t make this our last resort. We have Via her choice, and she made it. We know that much from Silas, at least.”

  
“True.” Rapunzel’s conscience still bothered her, but she knew her best friend well enough to know Cassandra wasn’t going to change her mind on this particular issue. It was better just to drop it and try to work through her conflicted feelings on her own. “So what are you going to do if you don’t trust Varian? You can’t deny that we need him. And the magic seems to be working so far.”

  
“Yeah. We definitely can’t win this without him. So I was thinking we should find someone to keep an eye on him. Someone who won’t make him suspect we don’t trust him, but someone who won’t hesitate to handle things if the magic does fail somehow.”

  
Rapunzel’s brow furrowed. “From the sound of it, you’ve already got someone in mind.”

  
“Yeah. I do. And you’re not gonna like it, Raps, but hear me out. There’s really only one person, besides us and Eugene, who knows the whole story of what happened with Varian and would be willing to step in if he does get out of our control.”

  
“And that one person is...”

  
“Your father.”

  
Rapunzel choked. “You’ve gotta be kidding. My dad’s never liked Varian. And I’m pretty sure the feeling’s mutual.”

  
“Ah, you’re thinking of the old Varian. The new Varian only remembers your father as his king. Which means he’ll be just like the old Varian was around you- an excited fanboy. And if the magic breaks, your father won’t hesitate a moment to intervene. For, ya know, a senior citizen, he’s pretty good with things like that.”

  
“Maybe too good,” Rapunzel said. This whole plan was setting more alarm bells off in her head the longer it went on. “Varian might have forgotten everything, but my dad sure hasn’t. I don’t think he’ll be the friendliest even if he knows Varian isn’t a threat.”

  
“He doesn’t have to be friendly. All he has to do is keep an eye on Varian without making Varian suspect that we don’t trust him. He can do that easily. And as soon as Via’s no longer a threat, back on the Isle where she belongs, we can pretend none of it ever happened. I just came to ask if you’re okay with me asking your dad to handle that for us.”

  
For a third time, Rapunzel sighed. “You know what’s best when it comes to the war, Cass. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support it.”

  
Her best friend smiled. “That means a lot, Raps. Alright, I’m off to go find Frederic.”

  
But even after Cassandra’s footsteps had faded into the distance down the beach, Rapunzel couldn’t shake off the lingering feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. They’d made a mistake. She knew that now. She just didn’t know where that mistake was. Was it using the wand to rewrite Varian’s memory? Or had this whole thing started way back in Corona the night of the storm? Had this all been unavoidable since then?

  
With a start, she realized she’d been painting absently, not even thinking about what she was doing. There on the rock in front of her was a cluster of wicked black spikes, and perched astride of them like a queen on her throne, her face twisted in an evil grin, was a small teenage girl with a stripe of blue in her hair. Rapunzel shuddered, lifting the brush to blur the image out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for the late update again, guys! I was up late at a birthday party for my grandma and didn’t get as early a start this morning as I would have liked. But here’s the new chapter, finally getting back to Varian’s side of things. The next chapter should be where things start to get exciting, so stay tuned for that!


	6. The Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via pays a long-awaited visit to Silas, a visit that doesn't quite go as planned. And speaking of plans, Gavin might just have one of his own...

It was easy for Via to feel like a villain in Maleficent’s dungeon, her black boots clattering threateningly on the cold stone staircase and Gavin trailing behind her ready to do whatever she asked. She was completely over her rattled emotions from earlier; now all she felt was angry. And angry was a feeling she loved, because she knew how to use it.

And she clung to that angry feeling when they finally reached the right corridor and found themselves standing in front of the cell that was now home to one very particular antihero. For just a minute, seeing him like that- a bit more shabby, a bit more disheveled, not his usual airbrushed self but still the same Silas she had once loved- she wavered. Then, quickly, she steeled herself, planting her hands on her hips, her voice ringing out cold and hard without the merest hint of a tremble.

“Something you wanted to tell me, Silas?”

He startled, looking at her with those impossibly beautiful blueberry eyes for just a moment. Then they narrowed, and he settled himself back onto the narrow dungeon cot, crossing his arms behind his head nonchalantly as if Via was of no concern to him. “Nothing in particular,” he drawled. “I think you said all that needs to be said between us, didn’t you, Via the Villainous?”

His tone was mocking, but Via didn’t care. She had embraced that name, welcomed it, a long time ago.

“Or so I thought,” she answered, sensing rather than seeing Gavin’s steady presence as he moved behind her. Good. With Gavin at her side, she could face this hero. With Gavin at her side, she wouldn’t fall for Silas’ tricks again. “But it seems you left something out. You told me your hero friends had a plan for my father. But you didn’t mention that they _wiped me from his memory.”_ Now her voice did shake, but not with fear- with fury.

“I wouldn’t have had to tell you if you’d done what I hoped you would,” he answered. “You would have been there living the perfect life right along with him. Don’t come looking to pin this on me, Via. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

“Because I wouldn’t change into someone I wasn’t?” Via demanded, her voice rising. “Because of that, you use magic to take my father away from me? How can you still call yourselves _good?”_

“Because we are good. Evil has to be stopped, Via, in any form it takes. If there’s no light, the darkness takes over and destroys everything else. I gave you the chance to get on the right side of history. You didn’t take it. So what happens next is all on you.”

“Oh, excuse me, I didn’t realize you were scared of the dark, Prince Too Charming.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Enough!” The booming shout from Gavin startled Via. She had never heard her quiet, nerdy friend speak so powerfully. And when she glanced at his face, she saw that his pale blue eyes were burning. “We’re not here to play word games, you idiot. We’ve only come here for one thing. What’s the magic, and how do we break it? That’s all we need from you and if you care about your health you’ll give it to us.”

“Here’s your answer, then. What’s the magic? I don’t know. How do you break it? You can’t. End of story. You can leave now.” Silas closed his eyes, shifting position as if he were making himself comfortable.

“Oh, yeah?” Via snapped, her blood beginning to boil. “Well, let me tell you something else I can’t do. I can’t sneak into Auradon and completely destroy the place. I can’t break out of the isle and I can’t slip you a truth-serum-laced cookie. Oh wait. I did. So when you tell me I can’t break the magic, you better believe I’m going to do it. One way or another. I’ll find a way. That’s a promise. And if you know my family, you know I don’t make those lightly.”

“Well, I wish you the best of luck with that, sweetheart, even if it’s a doomed effort. You’re not going to win this fight.”

“I’ve won every other one so far,” Via shot back. “I don’t see any reason why this would be any different. Magic and I have gone toe to toe before, and I came out on top. And, coincidentally, I also came out on your side of the bridge.”

“A short-lived victory,” Silas said, waving a hand dismissively. “Believe me, you’ll be safely back behind the barrier soon enough. You have no idea what’s coming for you.”

Via snorted derisively. “Says the guy in a cage to the girl who can walk out of here any time she wants.”

Silas laughed a little, seemingly unbothered. “This is just a temporary setback. See, that’s the one thing heroes will always have over villains. We know how to sacrifice for the greater good. We know how to work together. If I have to put up with a brief stay in Chateau de Evil for a little while to help my friends win, I’ll do it. A villain won’t. A villain’s always out for themselves.” He stood up, stretching his arms above his head as if this whole thing was nothing more than a friendly chat between friends. “You, for example. Out for yourself. So bent on being the villain you want to be that you ended up losing everything. Including your father. But I’ll forgive you for being a little on edge. It’s gotta mess with you, knowing it was all your fault.”

Something in Via snapped. Her eyes blazed, and the expression that came over her face was so angry, so evil, that Silas stepped back. “Gavin,” she said, and her voice was as loud and sharp as a whip. “Maleficent gave you the key, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Give it to me.”

Gavin didn’t. Instead, he crossed over to the cell, jabbed the key in the lock and swung the door open wide, holding out his hand in a gesture of invitation. Via took it, walking purposefully into the cell and straight up to Silas. She was still small, and he still towered over her.

Which put her fist in the perfect position to slam into the underside of his jaw. The antihero went flying backwards, staring up at her in shock, and Via stared down at him grimly.

“As far as reconnecting with exes goes,” she said, a cold little smirk lifting the side of her face as she shook her numbed hand, “this has been pretty fun.”

* * *

Via’s fearlessness only lasted as long as they were down in the dungeon. The instant they set foot in the main part of the castle, all the satisfaction of punching Silas melted away like an ice cube on a hot summer day.

“Well, _that_ was pointless,” she grumbled. “As good as it felt, it didn’t do anything for us. He’s obviously not talking. Which is infuriating.”

“I’m pretty sure Silas is just naturally infuriating,” Gavin said, and despite his calm tone Via glanced at him, smiling a small smile in spite of herself when she saw the look on his face. She knew Silas and Gavin had never gotten along, and it always amused her to see how Gavin’s darker, more sarcastic side came out when the two boys crossed paths. There was more to Gavin than most people thought there was, she had come to realize He was a special kind of villain, the kind who made you feel like they were nothing special at all. _And then, once you underestimate them, they blindside you. I’m lucky to have someone like that. I’m lucky to have him._

But the brief warm feeling didn’t last long. “We’re still just where we started,” she said. “We have no idea what the heroes are up to and now that Silas has decided to become unbearably stubborn, we have absolutely no way to find out.”

“Can you truth-serum him again?”

Via scoffed. “He’d never fall for it twice. Even he isn’t _that_ dumb.”

“Are you sure?” Gavin asked innocently. Via elbowed him in the side, and he smirked. “Alright, alright. Well, there’s one other thing I’ve been thinking about doing, Via. I’ve been tossing the idea around, trying to make up my mind. And it scares me, I’m not gonna lie, but I think we could pull it off. I just want to know if you think it will work.”

Via’s eyes widened in surprise. _Gavin has a plan?_ As long as she’d known him, Gavin had been the follower, not the leader. Once she might have been skeptical of whatever plan he’d been cooking up, but at this point, she was desperate enough to try just about anything.

“What’s this big idea of yours?” she asked.

“We need to find out what the heroes are up to, right? Well, I know how to do it. But I can promise you, you’re not gonna like it.”

“Gavin?”

“For the record, I don’t like it either, but it’s the best thing I can think of, and believe me, I’ve been wracking my brain for a while.”

“Gavin.”

“And you’re probably gonna kill me for even suggesting this, Via, but it’s our only chance and we can make this work, I know we can...”

“ _Gavin!”_

“What?”

“Quit rambling and tell me, wouldja?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Gavin took a deep breath and let it out slowly, suddenly looking nervous as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to tell her. And then, as the two of them made their way through the dark, flickering halls of Maleficent’s castle, he leaned close and whispered his plan into her ear.

By the time he was done, Via was staring at him as if he’d suddenly sprouted an extra head or two. He finally stopped, looking at her expectantly, as if he was hoping she’d have something to say about the whole idea.

And she definitely, certainly did. Her voice exploded, echoing off the walls so loudly that Gavin flinched.

“ _Are you insane?”_

“Via, just wait a minute, it’s a good plan!”

“It’s a good way to get yourself killed, you mean!”

“You did it!”

“I’m...well, you’re not me, Gavin! And I don’t...” She broke off, suddenly, drawing in a deep, shuddering sigh. “It’s a good plan, Gavin. It’s really good. And you’re right. It’ll work. But it costs too much. After losing my father...after everything else that’s happened...I can’t let you. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

Gavin’s eyes, which had blazed up a little at Via’s outburst, settled back down into a sudden understanding. He reached out and took her hand. “Via, I’m sorry too. I didn’t think. Of course I won’t ask you, not after your father. I didn’t even think about that, and I should have. Don’t you worry. We’ll come up with another plan. Even though I don’t have any ideas at the moment.” He pulled her close to his side and held her there for a moment. “You can handle this. I know you can.” He let her go, and they lapsed into a companionable silence as they continued down the hallway of the castle. 

“Should we wait for your mom?” Gavin said finally, providing a welcome change of subject. “She might be talking with Maleficent a while.”

“Nah. She won’t mind if we take Axel. Either she’ll walk or Maleficent will magic her back if it gets too late.”

“Oh, good. My mom’s probably wondering what’s happened to me. She was really excited to tell me she was making hazelnut soup tonight. For the third time this week. I don’t mind, though. At least she-“

Suddenly, as Gavin pushed open the door of the castle, he stopped short. And Via didn’t blame him; her own jaw had dropped at the sight before their eyes. It was a long, long moment before she managed to speak.

“What the heck is _this?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More questions pop up in this chapter! What's this mysterious plan of Gavin's and why is Via so upset about it? What are the heroes planning? And what did Via and Gavin just walk into? If you've got a guess for any of these, I'd love to hear it in the comments, and I'll be back next week with another chapter! Wishing all my U.S. readers a safe Labor Day!


	7. Battles Begun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise from Uma turns the tide of the war. Meanwhile, Via makes her own secret plans for evil to succeed.

If Via’s jaw could have dropped any further, it might have actually hit the ground. Of all the things she’d expected to be confronted with outside Maleficent’s palace, this was probably at the very bottom of the list. Actually, she had never expected to see anything like this anywhere.

It seemed that the entire Isle had spilled itself into the street outside the palace. From villains as well-known as Jafar to as minor as random pirates, every last one of them was there. At the sight of Via and Gavin, a ragged cheer went up, and a very familiar voice called out.

“Took you long enough!” a grinning Uma shouted. Via stared at her, a slow (and very confused) smile spreading across her face.

“Uma? What’s all this?”

“It’s your army, Blue! What, you didn’t think I was just gonna sit around and wait for something to happen after what you told me?”

“Yeah, actually, that’s exactly what we thought,” Gavin said.

“Well, think again! The heroes crossed a line this time, going after one of our own. And we’re sick of waiting. We’re not gonna let Auradon call the shots anymore. This time we’re gonna make the first move.”

“We’re all together now,” said a tall man whom Via recognized as Dr. Facilier, one of the villain parents whose daughter had turned to the side of good. “No more going around in circles. No more working against each other. Us vs. them, good vs. evil.”

“For the last time,” Prince Hans of the Southern Isles added. “After this, however it ends, it will be over.”

“You’re the one who busted us out in the first place, Blue,” Uma said. “So you’re the one who gets to take us to the finish line. You’re in the lead here, and the rest of us’ll listen to you.”

It took a moment before Via could truly comprehend what the words meant. And when she did, she half expected the weight of the sudden responsibility to crush her. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t. Surprisingly enough, all that she felt was...prepared. She hadn’t known it, but she’d been ready for this all along.

_ Ready as I’ll ever be. _

Something like this, like what she was looking at right here, right now, had never happened before. For as long as she could remember, the villains of the Isle had been divided against themselves. Auradon had always been the main enemy, but they had all had their own personal enemies as well. She had never seen this kind of...solidarity. Good vs. evil, a united front, everything else laid aside in favor of the fight at hand. They might get back to hating each other later, but at least they’d stand beside each other now. And they were willing to do whatever she asked.

_So what am I going to ask them?_

She paused for a moment, thinking over what the best plan of action might be. Things had changed now, dramatically changed. This morning, she had had only Gavin to count on. Now she had just what Uma had said- an army.

_Which means I won’t be entirely on my own if I use the one plan I know will work. But with that plan, I can’t tell anyone what I’m gonna do. I have to just...do it. And it’s not gonna be pretty. But it’s all I’ve got._

She stood there for a moment, making up her mind. And then she shook off the moment of seriousness and let her face relax into a smile.

“Well, I gotta say this is unexpected,” she called out. “But I think we’ve all been gearing up for this, haven’t we? So what I’ve got to say now is...why wait? We don’t know what the heroes are gonna do, but who says we have to sit around and find out? We’ve given them enough time to get their plans ready. They’re the ones who asked for this war. So let’s give it to them early.”

That certainly seemed to be just what her new army wanted to hear. Another cheer went up, this time so loud she was almost positive Silas could have heard it down in the dungeon. She found herself hoping that he had.

“How early we talkin’, lassie?” Harry Hook called out, and the pirates whooped their enthusiasm for the question. Via grinned her father’s devious grin, tossing back her hair in the same careless manner of any Auradon princess.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said nonchalantly. “It doesn’t pay to rush into things, but then again, playing it safe has never exactly been my strong suit. I do have all those new alchemical weapons I’ve been working on, and I’ve got a shiny new automaton suit that I’m just dying to try out thanks to my father. Not like we have to come up with some big, complicated battle plan either- just get the magic ones together, zap ourselves to Neverland and get to work. So, let’s see...how about tomorrow?”

That, as she had expected, got the biggest cheer of the night. And then, with their admittedly very simplistic plan set in stone, they did what they’d always done on the Isle when they were feeling particularly mad at Auradon.

They threw a party. There was no way of knowing who started the music or who started dancing first, but soon enough they were all doing it. And not in the prim and proper way of Cotillion. This was something Via had never actually gotten to experience herself- a true Isle bash. And oh, how she wished she could have enjoyed it to the fullest.

She pretended to, of course. Anyone watching her would have thought she was having a good time, just like everyone else. Her evil grin never left her face.

But, like most things, it was all different on the inside. No one but Via knew what the real plan was tomorrow. No one but Via knew exactly how much tomorrow’s battle was going to cost her.

* * *

  
Preparing for a war was hard work. And it definitely wasn’t a task for the faint of heart. But as important a job as it was, nobody could keep working twenty-four seven. Which was why, on Saturday mornings and Saturday mornings alone, Caden abandoned her mother’s iron-hard discipline and allowed herself the unheard of luxury of sleeping in. It did her good to get some extra rest, and she always looked forward to it.

She had never been interrupted before. But this Saturday morning proved to be different than the others.

She wasn’t sure, at first, what woke her. She sat there for a moment, tangled in blankets, dazed and disoriented, trying to determine what it was that had jolted her out of her sound sleep.

Shouting. There was shouting outside, people running back and forth, voices calling for weapons and bawling out orders that, by the sound of it, were only barely being listened to. She could hear the sizzling of magic, the yelled incantations of those who were armed with magic wands, and the harsh crack of ice that meant Erika and her mother were up to something. Something was happening. Something wasn’t right.

And then her sharp ears caught another sound, a familiar sound that every AK had heard at least once in their lives and hoped never to hear again. A sound that meant everything had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

From high up in the blue skies of Neverland, Mal’s dragon roared.

Instantly Caden was fully awake. It took only an instant for her mind to piece together the only logical conclusion, the only possible reason for the obvious carnage going on outside. _The villains. The villains are here._

She sprang to her feet, taking only the time to do the bare minimum to ready herself for battle- armor on, sword in the scabbard, hair tied up out of the way. “Via certainly didn’t waste any time,” she muttered to herself as she pulled on first one shoe and then another. “Didn’t even give us a chance to get started on that rock! I just hope she doesn’t have any of that amber with her!” She seized a random pile of daggers and shoved them into various places on her belt. And then she was charging into the chaotic scene outside, sword in hand, ready for action.

It took her only a moment to take in the sight of the absolute mess before her. Not since the founding of Auradon had there ever been a battle like this. An entire fleet of pirate ships had somehow managed to pull onto the beach near Skull Rock, and no sooner had they anchored then a roaring, bloodthirsty crowd of villains had poured out onto Neverland’s shores. “Together,” Caden whispered. “They’re all working together!”

It was the thing the heroes had most feared would happen, the one nearly undefeatable weapon that the Isle citizens had never before learned how to use- unity. It had seemed impossible that such black-hearted, evil rogues and rapscallions could ever manage to come together the way the heroes of Auradon had. And yet here they were, shoulder to shoulder, wielding whatever weapons they had, some with swords and some with magic and some with everything in between.

The old rivalries weren’t quite dead yet, though. From what Caden could see as she observed the chaotic clashing, most of the villains had been itching for the chance to go up against their old enemies once again, seeking to even the score. Two loud, bellowing roars echoed over her head, and the shadows of two enormous figures passed over her. Mal and her mother, she realized, both in dragon form battling it out. On one of the pirate ships she caught sight of Peter Pan and Wendy, backed by an army of fairies, trying to hold their own against a grinning Captain Hook and Harry. Further down on the beach were more conflicts straight out of the old storybooks- Ariel and Eric and their daughters struggling to fend off Uma and Ursula, Snow White and Evie and a small army of dwarves trying to reach the Evil Queen, King Ben and his father dueling Gil and Gaston, Prince Hans on his golden horse crossing swords with Kristoff on his reindeer.

“It’s the old days all over again,” Caden whispered, feeling a sudden hot anger spring up inside her. “Everything Auradon ever did...they’ve undone it. We’re back where we started!”

Suddenly a familiar, breathless voice caught her attention. “What’s the matter? Too scared to get close enough to my frying pan?”

Her best friend’s voice. Razelle’s voice. Caden whipped around, trying to determine where that voice was coming from. Finally she spotted a flash of purple and gold. There she was, Rapunzel’s daughter, lashing out with the unconventional weapon she’d inherited from her mother. The frying pan wasn’t doing much for her, though, because the boy she was fighting- tall and gangly with dark curls and a dark red shirt, armed with a lasso- was keeping his distance.

Gavin Gothel. That was all Caden needed to know. It was almost a law of the universe that where you found Gavin, you would almost certainly find someone else not far behind. And now that she was ready for battle, now that the fire of the fight had risen in her blood, Caden wanted nothing more than to cross paths with her own enemy. She scanned the battlefield with narrowed, almost predatory eyes, watching for the bright explosion of alchemy or a glimpse of blue on black.

She didn’t have to look for long. Via wasn't hiding. It was all too easy to spot the giant, hulking form of one of Varian’s infamous automatons. “Where’d she get that?” Caden muttered. In the end, she supposed it didn’t matter. Whether she’d made it or Varian had, all that mattered was that Via was here and so was Caden. This time, there was no rock to worry about. This time there was nothing in the way.

“I made a promise to you, Via,” Caden said. “I promised I was gonna pay you back for what you did to my home. To Auradon. And that’s one promise I’m not gonna break.”

She tightened her grip on her sword and ran forward to meet the alchemist’s daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, Caden’s POV probably comes as a shock, but there is a method to my madness. So what’s this secret plan of Via’s? And is the villains’ newfound unity going to last? If you’ve got any guesses on this or just thoughts on the story in general, please leave a comment! Hearing from my readers makes my day!


	8. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle of Neverland begins as Via sets her secret plan in motion...and is forced to do the one thing that marks her as a true villain forever.

Despite the weight on her shoulders, despite the knowledge of what else was going to happen today, once the battle got started Via found herself enjoying it. And the rest of the villains seemed to share the sentiment. Unlike the heroes, who were desperate to defend themselves and focused on the task at hand, the villains, as illogical as it was, were having fun. There were evil grins on every face, maniacal laughter ringing in the air like a chaotic choir.

“We needed this,” Via said, with a sigh of satisfaction. She reached out and pushed one of the levers on her automaton, grinning widely as the robot flung its arm to the side, knocking a half dozen knights over as if they’d been nothing but bowling pins. She cackled. “Holy wickedness, I love this thing! You’re a genius, Dad!”

She pushed another lever, and the giant mechanical menace took a lumbering step forward. This was as close as she, as a non-magical villain, would ever come to being invincible.

A stream of fire shot out of the sky and landed a pace or two in front of her. “Whoa!” Via quickly piloted the robot a step backward, glancing up in annoyance at the two dragons, one black and one purple, that were currently going at it in the blue Neverland sky. “Hey! Do you mind?” she shouted, ignoring the fact that they definitely couldn’t hear her. She was enjoying herself a little too much to care about things like that. And thankfully, those few alchemical weapons she had managed to finish- rudimentary things that were nowhere near their full power- seemed to be holding up better than she had expected. The villains had made a beeline for their respective hero nemeses at first, as Via had expected, but now they had managed to sort themselves out and the various small conflicts were more evenly matched. The past had been laid aside; all that mattered now was power. If there was a magical hero, a magical villain had come to meet them, regardless of whether they had history or not. The playing fields were leveled. The villains were standing as one. And from what Via could see of Auradon’s scattered armies, the forces of good had absolutely no idea how to cope.

_ Excellent. _

As far as she could see, in every direction she looked, she found nothing but utter chaos. She had no idea where her mother was at this point, but if there was one thing she knew about Lady Caine, she could walk through fire and come out unscathed. Gavin, well, Gavin was a bit more of a worry, but he had come into his own lately and she’d let him handle things himself. Now there was only one person she had to look out for. And thankfully, the giant mechanical creature she piloted gave her a wonderful bird’s-eye view.

She lashed out again, knocking over another handful of heroes and silently thanking her dad for not including the music box factor in this round of robots. As creepy and unsettling as the haunting melody was- which was an advantage when she was trying to freak Auradon out- it also served as a warning of where she was and where she was headed, which was one thing she definitely _didn’t_ need in this particular battle. “Not that they won’t know exactly where I am if they just look up,” Via muttered. “I’m kinda hard to miss.”

She put the robot on autopilot mode, her mouth twisting into a smirk as it immediately picked up the pace, sending Auradon’s forces scrambling to escape its heavy footfalls. As for Via herself, she focused on the automaton’s eyes, which served as her window to what was going on around her. She scanned Auradon’s ranks with her eyes narrowed, eager for and yet dreading the sight of her father. He was here, she knew it. He had to be. She recognized his work in some of the weapons the heroes were wielding, mostly unsuccessfully, right now. He was Auradon’s greatest prize, and they knew the kind of fear he could instill. They would want the villains to know that Varian had turned against them.

But as carefully as Via looked, she found nothing. If Varian was here, he wasn’t planning to show himself. She’d keep looking. He couldn’t hide forever. And she might not know how to break the magic that held him, but a glimpse of him, just a glimpse, was all she needed. The sight of of her father in Auradon’s grasp would give her the anger she needed to annihilate this place.

Suddenly the lightbulb went off in her head. She gasped, then slammed her head against the glass with a groan. “Duh. I’m thinking like a villain. A villain would want their enemies to know the power they’re up against. But a hero...a hero would want to keep Dad away from all this, to make sure he doesn’t see me and start asking questions. He’s probably not even here.”

She was right, although she didn’t know it. Varian was nowhere near the battlefield, completely unaware of his daughter’s presence so close by.

“That’s okay, Dad,” she whispered. “Don’t you worry, I’m going to set this right. If you don’t know I’m here, then I’ll do the next best thing and make sure that every hero on this island does. And then I’ll do one better and make sure they never forget.” Her voice was dark, and it no longer sounded like the voice of a teenage girl. It sounded like one of the villains of old, like a fearsome antagonist straight out of a storybook.

She looked out over the battlefield again, but this time she wasn’t searching for any particular target. It was almost as if she was watching a play, observing the events around her as if she wasn’t aware that she was a part of them. Then she shook herself off. “Well, I’d better get to work,” she said. “Nothing’s gonna happen as long as I’m sitting here daydreaming.”

She reached out and pushed the lever, and her father’s creation pitched forward again, carrying her one step closer to victory.

* * *

Caden had only made a little progress in her charge toward Via before she cooled down and thought about it and realized the truth. She was running straight into a virtual suicide mission. Thanks to the gigantic engine of destruction that the alchemist’s daughter was currently piloting- seriously, where did she get that?- Caden wouldn’t stand against her, not with a sword and a handful of daggers. The best she could do to strike a blow against Via would be to strike a blow against everyone else, bringing this rebellion of evil down before it started.

And she had already picked out the perfect target.

“Hey, Razelle!” she called out, lifting a hand to get her best friend’s attention. Rapunzel’s daughter looked exhausted, several strands of golden hair hanging loose out of her usual tidy, flower-trimmed braid. As inept as he had been just a few months earlier, Via’s little sidekick had gotten better. A lot better. He was good enough to give Razelle a run for her money.

_Unfortunately for him, he’s not good enough to face me._

“You’ve had enough,” Caden said, when Razelle pushed Gavin back long enough to turn and look at her. “Go find your parents and help them out. Let me take him off your hands.”

Gavin snorted, raising one eyebrow and offering her a careless smirk that he definitely hadn’t come up with by himself. That expression had Via written all over it. “Well, aren’t I flattered,” he said. 

Caden rolled her eyes. “Don’t be. You’re not fighting a delicate little princess, Gothel. I’m about to destroy you.”

“Does every hero brag about how good they are, or is that just you and your mom? I mean, if you’re that good, just prove it, geez.”

Caden growled. Literally, growled. She didn’t know Gavin that well. In fact, she barely knew him at all. And she was quickly making up her mind that the one word she could use to describe him was something along the lines of “infuriating.”

“Wish granted,” she snarled, and she leapt at him.

He was quicker than she gave him credit for. No sooner had she come down than his stupid rope lasso- what was that supposed to be, a stand-in for Rapunzel’s hair?- lashed out at her. She wasn’t prepared for that, and her sword went flying out of her hand before she knew what had happened. But that was what she had the daggers for. She pulled two of them out of her belt, barely even blinking, and lashed out right back. He obviously hadn’t expected her to go at it with both hands, and she saw the flicker of fear across his face.

_Good_. She squared her shoulders and got to work in earnest.

It didn’t take long. Really, what kind of idiot walked onto a battlefield armed only with a rope? The conflict was entirely one-sided from the moment it began, and there was never any doubt in Caden’s mind who was going to win it. The rest of the fighting was starting to die down around them now; whatever purpose the villains had thought coming here would serve, they seemed to have fulfilled it. Auradon had rallied and was beginning to beat them back. Slowly, one by one, they disengaged from whoever they were fighting and began a slow retreat back to the magically enhanced ships that had carried them here.

And it was there that Gavin made his big mistake.

Caden couldn’t blame him for it, really. With how focused they both were on the fight, it was a bit disconcerting to hear everything around them going suddenly quiet. But her mother had trained her well, and she ignored the temptation to see what was happening.

Gavin, however, had never had someone like Cassandra to teach him the ins and outs of combat. He turned his head, just for a moment, to see what was going on.

And that one moment was all it took. Caden jumped forward, kicking out her leg to sweep his feet out from under him. He cried out in shock, trying desperately to recover his balance. It was a doomed effort, and he went down hard on the white sand of the beach.

In the blink of an eye, the point of Caden’s dagger was leveled straight at him. “Don’t move,” she snarled.

For a moment he looked fearful, but then he seemed to remember something and quickly recovered himself. He laughed a little. “Oh, come on. You really think I don’t have a backup plan? We villains are working together now. And I brought a friend.” His hand slipped into his pocket and came out with something Caden recognized, a glass sphere full of gleaming yellow liquid. She tensed, remembering her mother’s warning about Via’s amber, but Gavin didn’t throw the glass ball in her direction. It struck the ground and exploded in a bright flash of light.

And that was all. Caden grinned as she realized what it was. An emergency flare, clearly meant to call Via to help him.

That could have been a problem. Via’s automaton could have crushed Caden in an instant. It was obvious that the alchemist’s daughter had seen the flare; the robot’s head turned back for a moment, almost hesitating.

But then Via turned the massive machine and joined the pack of retreating villains, leaving her so-called friend to Caden’s mercy.

For a moment Caden couldn’t believe what had just happened. And from the stunned look on Gavin’s face, he couldn’t believe it either.

“Ha,” Caden scoffed. “Well, isn’t that just like a villain? I guess your united front didn’t last too long. You people are only ever out for yourselves. And speaking of being by yourself-“

She leveled the dagger at him again. “It looks like you’re all on your own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was a long time coming. I’ve had some comments from people who talked about how Via wasn’t “truly evil,” and I never knew quite how to reply because I knew this was coming up. The fact of the matter is, villains don’t have friends, and I knew I had to get Via on her own eventually. So this is the way I chose to go about it. We’re gonna be seeing a very different Via from here on out; she’s crossed the line into full-on, no-holds-barred villainy. Hopefully you don’t hate her! (Or, you know, me).


	9. Switching Sides

_I had to. I had to, I had to, I had to..._

The phrase pounded over and over in Via’s head, keeping time with her heartbeat. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, to walk away and leave Gavin in the heroes’ hands. But she hadn’t had a choice. The plan was set, and the only thing she could do was let it play out as it was meant to.

Luckily, the other villains hadn’t yet caught on to the fact that she’d done it on purpose. For all they knew, she hadn’t noticed what was going on, hadn’t known that Gavin was in trouble until they got back to the ships and he wasn’t there. For all they knew, she had done the best she could to rescue him. They had no idea she had actually done nothing at all. They were giving her a wide berth, letting her have the time she needed to process.

All except for one.

“Hey.”

The voice was one she knew pretty well, and she turned around, managing a weak smile at Uma before focusing her gaze on the blue sea speeding past beneath the magically-enhanced ships. “Hey,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry about Gavin,” the blue-haired pirate said. “I know the two of you are close. But these things happen, you know? You gotta do what you gotta do. If that means cutting loose and striking out on your own, then that’s what it means. Look out for number one, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Via answered. “It just...it feels weird. Like, I wouldn’t have hesitated to throw anybody under the bus back when I was in Auradon. I would have done it in a second if it got me closer to the goal. I knew how to work alone. But now...I’m so used to having somebody else. Without Gavin, without my dad...I might have an army, but that’s it. I don’t have anyone I can really lean on.”

“Most villains don’t,” Uma said. “I mean, I’ve got my crew, but they all know I’d chuck ‘em overboard in a second if it benefited me to do it. And they’d do the same to me. That’s how villains work. That’s how villains have always worked, even if we’ve got a temporary truce going on while the war lasts. You don’t need anyone else, Blue. You’re good enough to handle this all by yourself, and when Gavin’s back and your dad finally wakes up, they’re gonna say the exact same thing. You can count on that.”

“Thanks, Uma,” Via said, sighing a little. “I needed to hear that.”

“You’ve got a plan, right?”

“A bit of one. I don’t know how it’s all gonna work yet. And I won’t, for awhile. Some big parts of it don’t depend on me.”

Uma raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Such as the first part. Which, to be honest, I’m not even sure my mom and Maleficent are even gonna go for. It’s taking a pretty big risk.”

“Which is...”

“We have to let my crazy ex-boyfriend bust out of Maleficent’s dungeon.”

“Whoa. Yeah, I can pretty much guarantee that Maleficent is not gonna go for that. I’m surprised that _you_ would after everything he pulled.”

Via scoffed. “Oh, believe me. If it were up to me and there were any other way to do this, I’d let him rot down there for the rest of eternity. But this is war, and I’ve gotta take some pretty drastic steps.”

“Okay, okay, let's assume Maleficent gives you the go-ahead for this, which is assuming an awful lot. How are you gonna make sure he takes the escape opportunity? Won’t he know you slipped up on purpose?”

Via gave Uma an incredulous look. “Oh, come on. This is the guy who literally took a cookie from the girl whose dad is famous for poisoning cookies. He’s like all heroes, he wouldn’t know a set-up if it punched him in the face. Which I did, by the way.”

“Still. How are you gonna play it?”

“I was thinking I’d get somebody who can play good. Ya know, a villain who can pretend they've seen what evil’s really like now that the war’s underway and is now desperate to get out and join the heroes. They could help Silas get out without making him suspicious, then pass off some reliable-sounding but completely false information on what our next move and send him on his way. He’d fall for it.”

“I could do that.”

The blunt statement surprised Via, and she looked at Uma- Uma, a pirate _renowned_ for being evil- with wide eyes. “You?”

“Why not?” Uma shrugged, changing her expression to a wide-eyed wistfulness Via had never seen on her face before. “You know, ever since my little adventure on Auradon...seeing how kind and happy everyone was...and ever since Ben offered me a second chance, I just can’t get it out of my head. I’m on the wrong side. I know that now. And I can’t escape myself, not yet. I know there are other people out there like me, villain kids who don’t want to be villains anymore. I have to stay and try to talk them into making that first step. But you, Silas- you can get out of here. You can get back to the heroes and tell them where the villains are striking next. I can help you.” She turned back to Via with her usual grin. “Well? How was that?”

Via laughed in spite of herself. “Oh my gosh, that was great! He’ll totally buy that!”

“Hook, line and sinker,” Uma agreed. “So, do I have the job?”

“If I can talk Maleficent into allowing it, then absolutely! We’ll have this war over with before the heroes even know what hit them! And I’ll have my dad back, and Gavin, and Auradon will be over and done with. For good, this time.”

“I sure hope so,” Uma said. “Alright, you got it, Blue. One Prince Charming jailbreak, coming right up.”

* * *

“He’s _my mother’s_ kid?”

Cassandra nodded in response to Rapunzel’s yelped question. “Yep. Except she’s not actually your mother, but, well, you know. He’s Via’s little sidekick. Apparently she was just using him.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Like father, like daughter.”

“Yeah. I don’t think he was expecting it, but what else do you expect from a villain? I knew this whole standing-together thing wouldn’t last long. This girl’s a lot more villainous than we ever gave her credit for, that’s for sure. How on earth was she ever able to slip by us for a full school year?”

“Good acting?”

Cassandra only grunted in reply, and Rapunzel bit her lip. “This really throws a wrench in things,” she said. “I mean, what about Varian? This is the former best friend of his daughter...the daughter it’s imperative that Varian doesn’t remember. And we can’t just not mention the fact that...Gavin, is that his name? That Gavin is here. If we do that, Varian’s going to start getting suspicious about why we’re keeping him out of so many things. It was already hard enough to convince him that my father should supervise him.”

“How’s that going, by the way?”

“Well, they don’t get along. My dad is one of those people who is never going to forgive Varian for the real story, even if Varian himself doesn’t remember any of it. So yeah, there’s definitely tension there. But then again, Varian still thinks of himself as a loyal Corona citizen, so he’s making an effort to be on his best behavior.” Rapunzel shrugged one shoulder.

“Well, let your dad handle Varian, then. Frederic’s a good liar, he’ll come up with something to keep Varian from finding out that Gavin’s here.”

Rapunzel sighed again. “Good liar. Isn’t that the truth.”

Cassandra smiled sympathetically. “Did you, um, want to talk to him?”

“To Gavin? Why?”

“He grew up with Gothel. He hates you. He’ll probably be more open to talking to you than anyone, just because he despises you.”

“Really?”

“Actually I have no idea, but it’s worth a shot.”

Rapunzel considered a moment before she finally nodded. “Yeah. Okay. What could it hurt?”

She followed Cassandra down the halls of the hollow tree, one of the few “buildings” in Neverland that had been upgraded to be as modern as the rest of Auradon. After a minute or two they finally reached a door, which Cassandra pushed open with a silent gesture of invitation. Swallowing a lump in her throat and wondering why she felt so nervous, Rapunzel stepped inside, and Cassandra closed the door behind her.

_Oh. He looks so much like her._ From the thick black curls to the pale blue eyes, the teenage boy sitting on a chair in the back of the room looked so very, very similar to the woman Rapunzel had once called mother that she found herself forced to take a minute and collect her thoughts. After a moment, realizing that the silence was becoming awkward, she cleared her throat.

“Um,” she said. “Hi.”

Silence.

“You, uh, probably know who I am.”

Gavin pushed his glasses up, fixing her with a look of withering scorn that had so very much of Gothel in it. “Oh, you think so?” His voice was bitter. Rapunzel fidgeted, not exactly sure how to keep the conversation going. The heroes weren’t like the villains. Their job, when one of the villains fell into their hands, was to win them over to the side of good. And Rapunzel had absolutely no idea how to do that.

So she did what she usually did and said the first thing that came to her mind.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. I mean, without your...friend.”

If she’d thought his voice was dark before, she had another thing coming. She had never heard such hate, such anger, in someone so young. _Except for Varian, all those years ago..._

“She’s not my friend,” Gavin spat. He glared at her, his eyes icy. “She left me. She betrayed me. Via’s nothing more than any other villain. And villains don’t have friends. I should have remembered that before I ever decided I could trust her.”

Rapunzel blinked, taken aback by his intensity. “We-el,” she said slowly, “as you might recall, I know a thing or two about being betrayed by someone you thought you could trust.”

“You’re talking about Via’s father.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

He laughed a little, a harsh laugh. “So is that what happens to me now? You rewrite my memory too?”

“No,” Rapunzel said emphatically. “Varian was...a very different case than you are. Varian was a lot more dangerous. And you’re just a kid.”

“So was he. At least when everything started. Didn’t stop you.”

_Ouch._ Rapunzel winced inwardly, stung by his bluntly stated and yet very accurate declaration. “Things were different, back then.”

Gavin scoffed, not even bothering to reply, and a heavy silence fell between them. It was Rapunzel, at last, who broke it.

“No,” she said again. “We’re not going to magic you into anything. But it sounds to me like you just found out how much it costs to be a villain. And if you keep going down that path, it’s going to cost you even more. Now, the side of good? That’s different. Heroes are loyal. Heroes don’t betray other heroes. On the Isle, you’re never safe. But when you’re fighting on the other side, you never have to worry that someone’s going to stab you in the back.”

Gavin laughed again. “What, is that your “come switch over to our side” sales pitch?”

Rapunzel smiled, recognizing the vulnerability behind his sarcastic front. “Well,” she said, “what have you got to lose?”

Gavin fell silent again for a long moment, his blue eyes showing his conflicted feelings as clearly as a mirror. Rapunzel waited a moment, giving him time.

Finally he looked up at her. “I can’t promise anything,” he said. “I’m not sure I’m ready to take that kind of leap just yet. But you’ve given me something to think about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More questions in this chapter? Is Silas really going to fall for Via's trap? Can Uma really be trusted? And is Gavin really won over to the side of good? Next chapter's a pretty big installment, so stay tuned! And, as always, I love hearing your comments!


	10. Remember What’s Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via closes the door on the past as Varian struggles with yet another baffling nightmare.

By the time darkness had fallen, Via was back home, sprawled out on her stomach across her bed. With one hand she fiddled with a ball of glowing green slime she’d accidentally created while trying to make one of her many weapons; the other hand was buried deep in the soft, fluffy belly fur of a snoring Rudiger. If she’d been doing what she was supposed to be doing, she would have been hard at work. There was still a war going on, after all. But for the first time in her life, she had never felt less like doing alchemy.

  
Suddenly her cell phone lit up with a notification. She reached over, scanning the text message that had just popped up. It was from Uma. _It’s done. He just left. I watched him._

  
And then, a second later, a second message. _He’s an idiot._

  
Via smiled at that, but it was strained, and for a moment she stood there, her eyes unfocused, grappling with an unexpected flurry of conflicting emotions. So Silas was gone, then. Gone for good, in more ways than one. She had never imagined, a year ago when those blueberry eyes walked into her life, how the story between the two of them would end.

  
But she was too much of a villain by now to let herself be tempted by those kinds of feelings. She shook herself off as if she was erasing the memory of his touch on her shoulder and drew a long sigh. “I guess that’s goodbye, then,” she said. “To the one true love I never had.” Her voice, despite her best efforts, fell to a whisper. “Bye, Silas.”

  
She stood there a moment longer and then turned back to Rudiger, who had woken up from his nap and tucked his paws underneath him, staring at her with big black eyes. Rudiger wasn’t as lively these days as he had once been. Not as curious, not as playful. He spent most of his time curled up in a patch of sunlight or a warm blanket. Showing his age, Lady Caine said, but Via knew better. She crossed the room quickly, reaching out to rub behind his ears. “You’re just missing Dad, aren’t you, buddy?” she crooned softly. “Dad” was one of the few words he knew, and he chirped sadly, his ears drooping as he reached up a paw to pull at the blue stripe in her hair.

  
“Yeah,” Via said, laughing softly as he petted her face, nestling his head into her palm. “Me too. I think we’re all gonna miss him once we get into the thick of this fight. It’s not gonna be easy without him, and without Gavin.” She shook her head. “What am I thinking, huh, bud? What am I even doing mixed up in all this?”

  
She never expected an answer. “What are you doing?” a voice repeated from the doorway. “I’ll tell you what you’re doing, Vi.”

  
Lady Caine crossed the room in a few quick steps and sat down beside her daughter, laying a hand on Via’s shoulder. “You’re doing something that’s never been done before,” she said. “You want to know why this is so hard? Because you’re breaking all the rules that have ever been. You’re a villain, Via. We’re not supposed to get happy endings, we’re not supposed to win the war. Heck, most of us were supposed to die.” She laughed ruefully. “But you’re not content with that. You’re not letting that happen. You’re insisting on your happy ending, no matter what you have to do to get it. You’re determined to win. And the world has never seen that before, ever, so it’s throwing everything it’s got at you, trying to get you to stand down and accept fate like every other villain.”

  
“Except Dad,” Via whispered. “Dad never accepted it. Dad would never stand down.”

  
“I think it goes without saying that your father is special,” Caine answered. “And so are you. Because no matter what’s getting thrown at you, you’re not giving up. You’re not letting it hurt you. You’re making yourself stronger.”

  
“It doesn’t feel like I’m getting stronger,” Via said, dragging Rudiger onto her lap and scratching his back until he arched it with a little purring sound. “It feels like everything’s spiraling out of control and I’m losing everything I care about. It feels like I’m making one mistake after another and eventually...” She broke off.

But Lady Caine wasn’t one to give up so easily. “Eventually what?” she pressed.

  
Via sighed. “Eventually,” she said softly, “I think those mistakes are gonna catch up to me. I mean, just look at Gavin-“

  
“Gavin will be fine,” Lady Caine insisted. “And if he isn’t, then he wasn’t who you thought he was and you never needed him in your life anyway. You just need to focus on you, Via. Focus on getting this war over and done with and finishing what you started when you broke that barrier.”

  
“People always seem to forget that Dad was really the one who did that.”

  
“He only did it for you. And if you hadn’t done what you did, he’d never have figured it out. So yeah, Via, that’s something you get to take credit for, and if he were here he’d say the same thing.”

Via looked up at her mother, half disbelieving. “You really think he’d say that?”

  
“I know he would. In fact, he’s already said as much. And hopefully, soon, you’ll get to hear him say it himself.” Lady Caine squeezed Via’s shoulder. “I know this would mean more coming from your father. You’ve had more time with him than with me, and you’ll always be closer with him. But I’m gonna say it anyway. You’re doing good, Via. You’re doing as good as evil will ever do.” Her eyes softened as much as Via had ever seen them soften, and her voice, for once, wasn’t a blustery shout or a poisonous whisper. It just sounded...normal. 

  
“And I’m so, so proud.”

* * *

Varian was dreaming. Again. He knew he was dreaming. There was no way any of this was real.

  
He stood on a long, impossibly long bridge that reached out over a swirling gray-green ocean. Spikes lined the sides of the bridge instead of a railing; they were set in an alternating pattern, half of them straight black rocks that glowed blue where the light hit them and the other half strange, curling spirals of hard, golden...something.

  
He knew it was a dream. But that didn’t do anything to lessen the incredible feeling that he’d stood here before. Well, not here. Not exactly. Not on this side of the bridge, where he could look over his shoulder and see Auradon, clean and bright and shining, the way it had been before the villains had taken over and destroyed it.

  
When he had stood on this bridge, he had been on the other side.

  
But the bridge was longer now. It seemed to stretch into infinity, vanishing into a mist of gray cloud on the horizon. The other side couldn’t be seen, not from here. He searched his memory, trying to remember what the other side was, but there was nothing. It was like his mind had been turned to a thick fog, and trying to think through it was almost impossible.

  
One thing, however, he did know. He couldn’t have said how he knew it; he just knew that he did. There was something for him on the other side of the bridge. Something he needed. Something...something...

  
“Something lost,” he said out loud, and though he’d spoken softly his voice sounded like thunder in the stillness. “Something I forgot.”

  
He stood there for a moment, squinting across the bridge, trying to make out something, anything. But there was nothing, and finally he moved to take the first step onto the bridge.

  
It was as if he’d run into a wall. Something was holding him down, keeping his feet rooted to the spot, holding him here on Auradon’s side of the bridge. “What the-“

  
He tried again to take a step, but again nothing happened. He struggled wildly, trying his best to break whatever was keeping him still, desperate to get across the bridge and find whatever it was that was calling to him, to remember that important thing he’d lost.

  
A voice suddenly called out to him, and he jumped, startled. “You can’t do it alone.”

  
He whirled around, his brow furrowing as he stared at the person who had suddenly materialized beside him. He had no idea who this person was, but another strange feeling had come over him- the feeling that he’d seen this person before.

  
It was a teenage boy dressed in a dark red shirt, tall and lanky with thick black curls and pale blue eyes behind round glasses. He was smiling, his hand held out, but there was worry in his face. “You can’t do it alone,” he repeated.

  
“What?” Varian asked. “Cross the bridge?”

  
The boy nodded.

  
“But I have to cross it. Something... something’s waiting for me, on the other side.”

  
Now the boy’s smile took on a knowing look, though he still didn’t say anything else. Varian took a half step forward. “You know, don’t you? You know what’s over there! Tell me! What’s waiting on the other side?”

  
“She is,” the boy said simply, offering no other kind of explanation. More puzzled than ever, Varian glanced out across the bridge again.

  
“She? Who’s “she?”

  
“The person you love,” the boy answered. “You belong there together, on the other side of the bridge. You’re not supposed to be on this side.”

  
“Why not?”

  
“Because she isn’t. She needs you.”

  
“I don’t even know who she is!” Suddenly a memory came back to him, and his eyes went wide. “Her? The girl in the amber, the one I saw in my other dream? You’re talking about her? About Via?”

  
“Via’s real,” the boy answered. “Via’s waiting. Via needs you. And you don’t remember her.”

  
“Should I remember? Do I know her?”

“You don’t just know her. You love her. And she loves you.”

  
“How...how do I remember her, then? How do I get to her?”

  
“You have to cross the bridge. And you can’t do it alone.”

  
Varian rubbed his forehead, beginning to feel a headache coming on. It felt as if he and this boy, whoever he was, were going around in circles. “Okay, so, why can’t I cross the bridge? I tried, and I couldn’t even move. Is there something holding me back?”

  
“Of course. Magic. It’s why you forgot her. Why you forgot everything. None of this is real.”

  
“I know it’s not. I’m dreaming.”

  
“But when you wake up, none of that will be real either. You don’t even know what real is anymore. You need to go back to what is real. Back to her.”

  
“But I can’t go back to her! I can’t cross the bridge!”

  
The boy smiled again. “I can take you to her. See?” He stepped forward, lightly, and there was no invisible barrier for him like there was for Varian. He made his way easily onto the bridge, holding out his arm in a gesture of invitation. “Come on. Follow me. I can take you where you’re supposed to be. I can take you back to her, back to what’s real.”

  
Varian tried once again to take a step onto the bridge, to follow his mysterious guide, but whatever force was holding him back didn’t relent. “I can’t!” he cried desperately.

  
“Not yet,” the boy agreed. “I can’t break the magic for you. Only you can do that.”

  
“By remembering her?”

  
“No. By deciding you _want_ to remember her. By deciding you don’t want this perfect lie. Once you do that, you’ll know what’s really real.” The boy turned around, walking further down the bridge, slowly vanishing into the distance and leaving Varian staring after him.

  
Until finally he was gone, and Varian found himself awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry this one’s so late, guys! We’re preparing for a family friend’s wedding (Covid-safe, don’t worry) and I’m in the wedding party, so life has been a little crazy, but here I am! We’re finally back to Varian’s perspective, so hopefully that was fun, and Via’s plan is about to be set in motion. As always, comments mean the world.


	11. Dreams Come True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return of a long-absent hero gives Caden and Erika the chance to lay some battle plans...and none too soon, as Varian comes face to face with an impossible reality.

There was only one word to describe Neverland this morning- buzzing. Absolutely buzzing with activity. And it wasn’t all because of the recent battle with the villains; the heroes had managed to win that, as unexpected as the attack had been. It was because of something no one had expected.

  
“I still can’t believe it,” Razelle said softly. She sat on Caden’s left side, with Erika on the right, as they waited for Cassandra and the rest of their parents to emerge from the closed room they’d rushed into with Neverland’s surprising new arrival. “He’s been gone so long.”

  
“I thought he wasn’t coming back,” Caden said bluntly. “I was pretty sure something drastic had happened. Guess I was wrong.”

  
“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” Erika asked, repeatedly folding her hands together in the tidy way she always did when she was nervous.

  
“Via, probably,” Razelle said. “And anything he’s learned about what she’s planning next. He’s the best source of information we’ve got about her.”

  
“You think she’s coming back, after what happened a few days ago?” Erika asked. “I mean, we defeated her pretty badly. And after what happened to her friend, do you think she’ll try again?”

  
Caden scoffed. “Oh, yeah. Via isn’t done yet. We’ll see her again pretty soon, I think. And hopefully Silas knows when.”

  
As if on cue, the door opened, and Caden’s mother stuck her head out into the hallway. “Caden, Erika, we need you in here. Razelle, you might as well come too.”

  
The three of them quickly stood up and hurried into the room. There was a small knot of heroic figures gathered around a table- King Ben and his parents at the head of it, Eugene and Rapunzel on one side, Fairy Godmother on the other. And next to Fairy Godmother was Silas.

  
He wasn’t his usual airbrushed self, Caden noticed. He was scruffier, his hair longer and his dark blue eyes tired and dark-ringed. But he made an effort to smile at the three of them, and there was triumph shining in his eyes. There should be, as far as Caden was concerned. Very few people could boast that they’d escaped from Maleficent’s dungeon.

  
“You look like crap, but I’m glad you’re safe,” she said, following in her mother’s footsteps by not bothering to soften her words in the least. “How’d you break yourself out?”

  
“I didn’t. Apparently we’ve got some allies over there. Uma helped me with the jailbreak.”

  
“You’re kidding.”

  
“Nope. Looks like you made more of an impression on her than we thought, Your Majesty.” He gestured in Ben’s direction. “She told me she knew which side was right and which was wrong, and she was finally gonna act on it. So whenever we strike back against the villains, we’re gonna have some allies.”

  
“That’s good to hear,” Rapunzel said with a little sigh. “I’m glad not all the villain kids are as far gone as Via seems to be. It gives me some hope that I might still be able to get through to Gavin.”

  
Silas sat bolt upright. “Gavin’s here?”

  
“Yeah. He...didn’t quite manage a getaway with everyone else. I’ve been trying to get through to him; it can’t have been easy growing up with my...with Mother Gothel. And I think he was a bit surprised by Via leaving him behind. He’s furious with her, I know that much. Maybe furious enough to change sides.”

  
Silas’ eyes were wide, and he had that look that meant he was choosing his words carefully. “I’d be careful with that. Gavin and Via aren’t a pair you want to trust too easily.”

  
“Isn’t that the truth,” Cassandra muttered. “I say we don’t give him the chance. After all, every kid on that Isle’s already had a million chances, and up until a few days ago he made his choice pretty clear.”

  
“I don’t know,” Rapunzel said. “The choice rests in my hands. He’s Gothel’s kid, after all, and Gothel’s my enemy. I’m the one who gets to decide whether or not we can trust her son.”

  
“That’s fair,” Ben spoke up for the first time. “But we’re not here to talk about Gavin. That can wait till later. We’re here so Silas can tell us what he knows. Any information you can give us, on the villains and what their plans are, would be helpful. I don’t intend to be taken by surprise again.”

  
“And we won’t be. That’s why Uma didn’t come here with me. She’s gonna play the same role Via did when this whole mess got started. She’s our insider now, and there’s probably more where she came from if we can find them.”

  
“Did she tell you anything about what they’re planning next? It’s obvious Via’s calling the shots now, so what’s she up to?”

  
“From what Uma said,” Silas began, “they are planning something. Something big. But it’s not an attack on us. Not directly. Not yet. It’s something else. Via’s behind it, because of course she is.”

  
“That,” Razelle sighed, “surprises no one. But do you know what this big master plan is?”

  
“Nope,” Silas answered, popping the P. “From what Uma said, nobody knows that except for Via.”

  
“And they’re all still following her?” Beast spoke up. “A teenage girl takes the lead over the whole Isle, and they all follow her blindly?”

  
“It looks that way. From their perspective, she’s proved herself. She’s as much a hero as a villain could be in their eyes. They’ll do anything she says.”

  
“So what did she say? What’s her plan?” Cassandra pressed. “Does she even have one, and if she does, did Uma tell you what it is?”

  
“Oh, she’s got one all right,” Silas answered, running a hand through his rusty hair. “And here’s why I called you in, Caden. Uma doesn’t know much, not for sure, but she does know one thing. Whatever Via’s planning, she’s gonna use the amber. And the rocks. Which means-“ he sat back in his chair. “that we need to use that rock you brought back from Corona and come up with a way to combat that.”

  
There was a long moment of silence. “Well, I hoped it wouldn’t come to this,” Cassandra said finally, “but she’s brought it on herself. If that’s really what she’s up to, then I know the weapon we’ve got to use against her.”

  
“And what’s that?” Eugene asked.  
“The best one we’ve got,” Cassandra answered. “Her father.”

* * *

Varian concealed a yawn behind his hand, all too conscious of King Frederic’s eyes upon him. He still wasn’t sure exactly why Rapunzel was so dead set on her father keeping an eye on him, but the one thing he definitely knew for sure was that it made him very, very nervous. And when you were working with a science as precise and delicate as alchemy, nervousness was not something you really wanted to be dealing with. The nightmares that had come back to Varian with a vengeance lately, waking him up in a cold sweat nearly every night and making it next to impossible to get back to sleep, didn’t help either. But he knew how important it was for him to figure this out, to come up with a way to neutralize the mysterious amber that the villains’ new mastermind was apparently planning to use. Rapunzel was counting on him, and after everything she’d done for him, he wasn’t about to let her down.

  
He forced himself to focus, fighting back the tiredness and the unsettled feeling he’d had ever since that strange dream last night. Two people who had shown up in his dreams, each with a similar cryptic message about “remembering what’s real” and both of them giving him the strange feeling that he should have known who they were, should have recognized them somehow. It messed with him; he wasn’t afraid to admit that. It was a weird thing to try to handle, and it made him feel strangely jumpy, as if something unexpected might be lying in wait just around the corner. Maybe he’d go see Fairy Godmother if he could snatch a few minutes, see if she had any magic spell or potion that could banish the dreams until some time when he wasn’t dealing with an impending war and he could actually figure out what they meant.

  
“What’s the matter?”

  
King Frederic’s voice startled him, and he jumped, realizing he’d been staring off into space with a dropper dangling from his hand. His face reddened. “Oh, nothing. Just lost in thought, I guess.” Carefully he bent down a little, letting three or four drops fall onto the smooth, glistening surface of the black rock. Then he stepped back, quickly, and the king leaned forward as they both watched the stone intently for any sign of a break or a weakening.

  
But there was nothing. This serum, like countless others, had failed. Varian stood there for a moment, considering, catching his lip between his teeth as he thought over his options.

  
Finally he sighed. “Alright, well, that was the last idea I had. I’ve got no clue how to break this thing. I mean, I know magic ice can do it, but that’s gonna take way too long. And I don’t know what else we could use. Nothing has any effect.”

  
There was a hard, sharp edge to the king’s voice when he answered. There always was. Varian had no idea why King Frederic seemed to dislike him so much, but by now he had learned to put up with it. “Think of something. That’s your job, after all.”

  
As far as advice went, that wasn’t very helpful, but Varian followed it anyway, pacing back and forth absently as he wracked his brain for even the slightest spark of an idea.

  
“The only thing that might work,” he said finally, speaking slowly in an effort to gather his thoughts together, “is if I focus on something else. Any effort with the rock is going nowhere fast, so what if I tried working on the amber instead? I’m sure if I asked Rapunzel, she could send Caden and Erica to get me a sample of it.” He was getting excited now, the way he always did when he came up with a new idea that had potential to work. Especially an idea that might solve a problem this important. King Frederic, unfortunately, was staring at him with absolutely no comprehension in his face. Feeling suddenly awkward, Varian cleared his throat. “Right. Well, anyway, I’m gonna go ask Rapunzel if she can get that figured out. I’ll be back in a flash!”

He was out the door without waiting for an answer, relieved to escape Frederic’s cold eyes for at least a little while. _Seriously, why does he hate me? What did I ever do to him?_

  
He asked a passing fairy if she’d seen Rapunzel around, and was given directions down a certain hallway he’d never gone down before. But it was definitely the right direction; even before he reached the closed door ahead, he could hear voices trickling from behind it, and it was easy to recognize one of them as Rapunzel’s familiar cheerful banter. The other one, though- that was quieter, and he didn’t recognize it even though he felt like he should have. He knocked lightly on the door, swinging it open and poking his head into the room. “Sorry, Rapunzel, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask if you could-“

  
He broke off suddenly, blinking in confusion. Rapunzel had been talking to someone.

  
He was only a teenager, tall and thin, with thick dark curls and pale blue eyes. He pushed his glasses up further onto his face, staring at Varian in complete and utter shock.

  
Varian didn’t blame him. His own face mirrored the same expression. He had no idea who this boy was. But he’d seen him before. Standing on the bridge, urging him to cross. Urging him to remember what was real.

The dream. The dream was real. And it was here in front of him.

_How is this happening?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one’s late again! I wanted to take the time to get this scene right, so I took it slow. Hopefully it was worth it! This chapter definitely throws a wrench in the heroes’ plans...or does it?
> 
> Comments make me happy, so I’d love to hear your thoughts! See you next time!


	12. Second Thoughts and Second Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via questions the point of the villains’ efforts and tries to determine what her happy ending looks like. Back in the heroes’ camp, Gavin comes to an important decision...and Varian overhears something he shouldn’t have.

It didn’t take long for word of Silas’ escape from Maleficent’s dungeon to get around. Thanks to Uma, however, panic was avoided- she was very clear that Silas hadn’t simply managed to escape by himself, he’d been allowed to go because it furthered the villains’ own ends. No one really seemed to care that much if Via was being honest. Except for the general dislike of antiheroes that was present among all the Isle citizens, Silas and his treachery hadn’t really mattered much to anyone but Via. And as far as Via was concerned, it was good riddance to bad rubbish. If she had her way, she would never have to think about Silas again.

After all, she had more important things to think about. The next attack on the heroes was nearly ready, and she’d spent night and day in her alchemy lab with a sleepy Rudiger on her shoulders, building and designing the weapons that she and her father had dreamed of on the Isle. Lady Caine, with her years of battle expertise to speak for her, was in charge of this attack, and as a crowning insult, they had cooked up a new scheme to send Prince Hans and a couple of the other more diplomatic villains to request, or more likely demand, the heroes’ unconditional surrender. They’d never do it and every villain on the Isle knew it, but the thought of how angry it would make them made it worth the effort.

Things were going well for once, Via thought. If Gavin and her father had only been at her side, everything would have been perfect. She was confident that they would soon win this war, and that the age-old battle between good and evil would finally come to the end no one had expected- a happy ending for the villains.

And that line of thinking was what had led to the question that had been preying on Via’s mind all day.

_ Then what? _

If the villains won the war, if the heroes were defeated and all the old grudges settled, what happened after that? They could never defeat _all_ the heroes. Good was a force that could never entirely be snuffed out. There would always be more of them. And besides, once the fun of getting your revenge was over, what were you supposed to do with your life after that? What did villains do once they won? None of the old stories had ever answered that question, because no villain had ever won before.

“Well,” Via said to Rudiger, moving her goggles down to cover her eyes as she let a spoonful of gray powder fall into a hissing beaker of purple liquid, which proceeded to bubble up as if it were about to explode before she slammed a lid on it, “there’s a first time for everything.”

But that didn’t answer the question, did it? That haunting question, _then what?_ What would she do once Corona had fallen and her father was back and Rapunzel was out of their lives? How would she spend her time without a war to fight? And what did she want out of this war, anyway?

She stopped. Now there was another question, even more confusing and thought-provoking than the first one. What did she want from this war? None of the stereotypical villain answers seemed to fit. She wanted revenge of course, and her father back, but those were a given, and they weren’t something lasting. Once you got your revenge, it was over. What did she want the war to give her after that? She’d never wanted power; in fact, that had never even come into the equation. She’d leave that up to people like Maleficent, people who knew how to handle a throne and were intimidating enough to keep it.

Money? Nope. Not that, either. She wasn’t like Jafar, seeking after the next great treasure. There were very few things she wanted that she couldn’t make for herself, and usually her creations turned out better (and more evil) than the originals. No, money wasn’t part of it.

Adventure? Once, before she’d come to Auradon and gotten involved in all of this, she might have answered yes, but now she’d had enough of adventure to last her a lifetime. She wasn’t like her mother, never content unless she was roaming the high seas. Via was used to being close to home, and home, she realized, was where she wanted to stay. But beyond that, when it came to the goal of the war, the reason why she was fighting so hard to win this fight, she had no idea what she truly wanted. _What do you wish, Via?_

She answered the question in her mind with another one. Whenever she was confused about something, ever since she was a little girl, she had always found the answer in the same place. What would her father do? It had never failed her before, and maybe it could answer this puzzling question for her now.

“What did Dad wish?” she asked aloud. “Before it was about the sundrop flower and purple cookies and Rapunzel and revenge, what was it all about? Why did he do everything the way he did? What was he trying to gain? If everything had worked out the way he wanted, what would he have gotten out of it?”

She thought about it for a long time, wishing that her father had been there so she could ask him in person and hear what he would say. But even if he was there, even if she could wave a magic wand and make him materialize right there in front of her, it would do her no good. He didn’t even remember her.

“That’s another question, Rudiger,” she said. “And I think maybe it’ll be easier to answer. It’s definitely more urgent. What will make him remember me?”

She didn’t know the answer to that question, not yet, but she knew how to find it. She turned up the heat under her beakers, pushed her goggles up over her hair, and got back to work. Magic wouldn’t work for her. Except for true love’s kiss, magic couldn’t break magic.

But alchemy could. She just had to find out how.

* * *

Varian swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. He found himself gripping the doorframe as if it was the only thing keeping him on his feet, and maybe it was. Shock was the only thing he felt in this moment. _I’m looking at a dream. If this dream is true, is the other one? That girl...Via...who needs me. Is she real too?_

“Varian?” Rapunzel asked, standing up quickly. She looked strangely pale, Varian noticed, as if she were afraid of what his reaction to this boy might be. “Are you okay?”

He shook off the haze, forcing himself to smile, pretending nothing was wrong. “I’m...fine. Just tired, I guess. I got dizzy there for a moment.” Some wild urge in him wanted to confess everything, to tell Rapunzel that a dream had come to life right in front of him and he had no idea how to handle that information, but a deeper instinct made him keep quiet. He couldn’t shake the feeling that these inexplicable dreams had to stay a secret until he somehow found out what they meant.

Rapunzel still looked a little scared, but her expression changed to sympathy. “You’re working too hard,” she said. “Oh, I knew we were putting too much pressure on you.”

“No, no, I can handle it,” he hurried to reassure her. “We’ve got a war to win. I’m going to do my part, I promise.”

“Do you even know who you’re fighting?” the boy exploded suddenly. He leapt to his feet, startling Varian. The look on his face was even stranger than Rapunzel’s. It was a look of wisdom and confusion, as if he knew something Varian didn’t, but wasn’t sure whether to reveal it.

Rapunzel quickly made the decision for him. “Gavin,” she said warningly, and the boy settled back in his chair, a storm of conflicting emotions written in his pale eyes.

Gavin. Varian filed that name away in his mind. It was like that other name, the girl’s name- Via. He felt as if he should have known them both, and yet when he probed his memory for any recollection of the names, he came up empty-handed.

“I-I should get back to work,” he said haltingly, trying his best to pull himself together. “Your dad’s probably wondering what’s taking me so long.”

“Weren’t you going to ask me something?”

“Um...it can wait.” He mustered a strained smile and quickly fled the room, closing the door behind him and fighting to get his mind back under control. _Okay, so I just saw a dream come to life. No big deal. Magic does weirder things all the time. I’m overreacting. I’ve gotta be._ But all the same, he looked back at the room he’d just come from, wondering.

On the other side of the door, Rapunzel took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. “I’m sorry about that,” she said finally. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that...well, circumstances being what they are...”

“I get it,” Gavin said quietly. “You didn’t want him remembering me. In case it sent him back to Villain-Town. Is the magic really that fragile?”

“We don’t know,” Rapunzel answered. “And we can’t take the chance that it might be. Varian isn’t like you, Gavin. He wasn’t going to come around, not without magic. He wasn’t going to start to go good like you have over the past few days. And he’s a lot more dangerous than you. We had to do something.”

“Via was always the dangerous one between us,” Gavin said softly, staring off into the distance. Mumbling, Rapunzel thought. His mom would hate that. “I only ever followed her lead. She’s the one who started it all, she’s the one who should really get the blame for what happened to Auradon. I was just...blind. I never saw her, never knew her. Not really. Not for what she truly was.” He looked back up at Rapunzel, and for the first time she noticed how vulnerable, how fragile and confused, he seemed. “When I look back on it now, when I think about her, I almost can’t believe it, the kind of things she’s done. How can one person get to be that...evil?”

“By choosing it,” Rapunzel answered. “Choosing evil, over and over. That’s what makes a true villain, the kind of villain that will never know what goodness and happiness mean. And that’s not you, Gavin, not yet. You’ve still got a chance. You don’t have to be what Via says you are anymore. You don’t ever have to have her in your life again.” Impulsively she reached out and took his hand. “And once you get her out of your life,” she said, “who knows what else you’ll have room for?”

Silence fell for a long moment, and Rapunzel didn’t even try to break it. After the sudden fright of seeing Varian at the door and thinking she might have to deal with the resurgence of his erased memories, it felt strangely comforting to be talking to Gavin like this. It felt as if a door had opened up between them, as if she’d finally gotten through to him. She even let herself hope that one day, soon, he’d be fighting on their side, redeeming himself like so many villain kids had done before him. It was too late for Via, she thought sadly. Via was just too far gone. But Gavin...she saw something in Gavin that reminded her of herself, always letting others control the narrative until finally the moment came to stand up and rewrite destiny.

“Well,” Gavin said finally, and he was smiling a little as he looked at her, “if someone like Varian can change sides, I guess there’s no reason why I can’t do it too.”

Rapunzel let out a happy squeal, throwing her arms around him. “That’s the best thing you could have told me!” she cried excitedly. “It means so much when one of you kids changes course. I never get tired of watching it. Oh, King Ben is going to be thrilled...” She babbled on, full of pride and excitement for this villain kid who had somehow ended up under her wing.

And back on the other side of the door, Varian put a hand over his mouth to muffle a startled cry. He had come back to listen, unable to shake the feeling of deja vu, and what he’d heard...

“What is he talking about?” he whispered. “When did I change sides?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally starting to get to the most exciting part of this whole story, and I for one cannot wait for y’all to read it. Comments keep me going, so please leave your thoughts if you enjoyed or have theories or whatever! See you next time!


	13. Down In History

All through that week, Varian found himself distracted. He couldn’t keep his mind on his work, no matter what he tried, and it certainly didn’t escape King Frederic’s notice. But even a stern lecture from the king couldn’t set him at ease again. Not the way he had been.

  
He’d felt this way for a long time. And seeing what he’d seen- a dream come true in all the wrong ways- only made him feel worse. There was something going on beneath the surface, something he wasn’t aware of. It felt as if every other hero knew something he didn’t know, and he didn’t know why. There was something being kept from him. And he was fairly certain that whatever it was, it had to do with Gavin and that girl. It had to do with whatever it was the dream wanted him to find- whatever was real.

  
For a while, he tried to wish the feeling away, going on with business as usual, smiling and joking as if nothing was wrong and nothing was bothering him. More than once he saw the boy called Gavin, although they both seemed to have come to a mutual, unspoken agreement to stay out of each other’s way. Gavin looked...happier, Varian noticed. Brighter and less subdued. Being good was good for him. _A change of sides, like I apparently made. But when was I ever on the opposite side? When was I ever...evil? And why don’t I remember any of this? What aren’t they telling me?_

  
But as soon as he started to feel like maybe ignoring the problem had made it go away, like maybe he was a little closer to feeling his normal self, the next parts of the whole confusing mystery decided to reveal themselves. They popped up in all sorts of places. 

Clues. Puzzle pieces that all seemed to fit in a picture his mind couldn’t fathom. Once it was a page tucked into his journal, written in a handwriting that was close to his, but not quite a perfect match, and signed with that single name that had, for him, become the stuff of nightmares- _Via_. Another time it was a glass sphere full of some reddish liquid, resting innocently among his other inventions as if he’d created it along with them...but he hadn’t. He never quite knew where he’d find them, but they never failed to rattle him. Always he had that same, indescribable deja vu, as if he should have known what these items were and how they fit into his life. But the answers never came to him, no matter how long he thought about it, and whatever picture these puzzle pieces were trying to paint for him, it remained a stubbornly blank canvas in his mind.  
  


The third clue was the one that truly shook him. He found it waiting on his dresser after a long day of work, and immediately sank down onto the bed, staring at it, trying to figure out what it could mean. It was a framed portrait, small and not very skillfully done, that showed three people. One was a tall woman with dark red curls and a tattoo of a rose and skull on her arm. In her lap she held a little girl of around five or six, with black curls and blue eyes and a chubby-cheeked, gap-toothed but still surprisingly unsettling grin. He had no doubt that this was the mysterious Via, and it didn’t make him any more eager to finally meet her. She didn’t exactly look like the porcelain doll type of kid, that was for sure.

  
But the third figure was the one that Varian spent a long time staring at, hoping his brilliant, scientific brain could come up with some other conclusion than the one staring him in the face. He came up empty. The third figure, without a shadow of a doubt, was him. But there was something in his eyes that didn’t belong, a darkness that didn’t line up with the Varian he saw in the mirror every morning. It troubled him to see that kind of look on his own face. It made him wonder, deep down, what he was truly capable of. What if there was something out there, a disaster, a tragedy, that could put that kind of darkness in his heart?

  
In typical fashion, he tried to brush it off. For the next three days he steadfastly ignored the picture, grateful that no more mysterious clues found their way to him. He waved aside Rapunzel’s anxious questions about what was bothering him, assuring her that he was just tired and he’d be alright once the war was won. The king’s questions were a little more specific and suspicious in nature, leading Varian to wonder how much Frederic knew about whatever this great secret was, but he answered them with as much patience as he could. He resolved not to let the dreams, and the girl inside them, bother him too much. Not yet. There’d be time for that later, once the heroes weren’t counting on him. They had to get the villains out of the way first, and then, then he could focus on figuring all of this out. That was the plan, anyway, and he stuck to it.

  
Until the day he found the fourth clue on the table.

  
It wasn’t like the others. It had no connection to the girl in his dreams, at least not from appearances. It was a leatherbound book, not particularly fancy, emblazoned with the title “History of Auradon and Its Various Regions, Volume 4.”

  
One page, one single page, had a black ribbon sticking out of it.

  
The message was obvious. There was no note, no instructions, but Varian knew exactly what he was supposed to do. His hands were shaking as he reached out. “I don’t understand,” he whispered aloud. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

  
In a sudden rush of courage, he grabbed the book and turned the pages to the bookmarked chapter. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the text, mouthing the words as he read them.

  
It wasn’t long before his blue eyes went wide, and finally, finally, he understood.

* * *

Lady Caine glanced around with wide eyes as she followed Uma into Via’s bedroom. “Wow. You’ve been busy, Vi. Looks like the beginnings of an armory in here.”

  
“That was the idea,” Via said, arranging Rudiger on her shoulders like a fluffy scarf. “Most of these weapons are finished now. I figured you could get them passed out, Mom; you know a lot better than I do which villain would do best with which weapons.”

  
“That I can do,” Lady Caine agreed. “Just a few days now until it’s back to Neverland. And hopefully that’ll be the last trip we need to make. I’m ready to get your father back where he belongs, and even more ready to put this whole mess behind us.”

  
Uma nodded her agreement. “Me too. So why am I here, Blue?”

  
“Because I need you to do something else, you and your pirates. I need you to spread the word and let everyone- and I mean everyone- know that they need to be at New Dragon Hall at eight o’clock tonight.”

  
“Okay?” Uma raised an eyebrow beneath her pirate hat. “For what, exactly?”

  
“I need to explain the plan.”

  
“I thought we went over this. Get to Neverland and drive the heroes crazy until you find your dad and snap him out of his magical amnesia. Then we wrap things up however we want to with our respective arch-enemies and head home.”

  
“Well, that’s the basic outline of what we’re doing, yeah,” Via answered, hiding her smile at the pirate captain’s blunt way of putting things. “But that’s not...everything. There’s a lot going on in Neverland right now that only I know about.”

  
“Ah-ha!” Uma snapped her fingers. “I knew it. You’ve had a secret plan going this whole time.”

  
“Yep.” Via shrugged. “I figured it would be a good idea to be one step ahead of the game. I take after my dad that way.”

  
“And you definitely kept the secret,” Lady Caine said, smiling to let Via know she was teasing. “You didn’t even tell your mother.”

  
“Nobody could know. It was safer that way. I wasn’t even sure it was going to work, actually. It wasn’t my plan. Somebody else came up with the whole thing, and I decided it was the best shot we had. There are things happening right now that the heroes don’t even know about. And by the end of it, we’re all going to have our happy endings, and Dad will be back to his old self.”

  
“And now you’re going to reveal this secret plan to the rest of the Isle,” Uma said. “Cool. Well, that won’t be a problem. I’ll send my crew out this afternoon, and you’ll have everyone there tonight, pirate’s honor. I gotta say, I’m mighty curious about what you’re up to.”

  
“I think I can guess who else was a part of this,” Lady Caine added. “I knew something didn’t add up.”

  
“I’ll explain everything, I promise,” Via said, grinning at the repetition of the phrase that had always spelled trouble for her family in the past. “I’ve got this all planned out, and hopefully everything will make sense by the time we’re finished with this. I am not losing this war.” Her voice grew quiet. “And I’m not losing Dad, either.”

  
“Is that part of the plan?” Uma asked. “You figured out how to get his real memories back?”

  
“That’s part of the plan, yeah,” Via said. “Actually, that’s the part I’m not sure about. There’s no guarantee it’ll work. But even if it doesn’t, I’ve got a backup plan. I really hope I don’t have to use it, because I’m scared about how that might end up, but if it comes to it, I’m prepared.”

  
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Lady Caine said.

  
“It’s a new idea. It came to me last night while I was thinking about ways to get Dad to remember me. If nothing else will break the magic, I’m pretty sure this will. But it’s a last resort, Mom. We’re gonna try everything else first. But at the end of the day, we need Dad back, and if this is how I have to do it, then that’s the way it’s gotta be.”

  
There was a long silence. Via didn’t offer any further explanation on her new plan. She’d only just come up with it the night before, mulling her questions over in her mind. And the answer she’d finally come to was this- she might not know what she wanted when the war was over. She might not know what she wanted to do with her life when she didn’t have a cause to fight for. But she knew that what she wanted, more than anything else, was her family back.

  
And that had led her to the startlingly obvious conclusion. That was what Varian had wanted, too, at the start of everything. That had been her father’s wish when he stole the Sundrop. Before he was after revenge, before he had decided to make Corona pay, he had only wanted to get his family back.

  
And if all else failed, Via could use that wish to break through the magic and make him the person he used to be. She just hoped she had the courage to make the kind of sacrifice she would have to make to do that.

  
Lady Caine and Uma glanced at each other, considering her words. Slowly, a smile broke out over the blue-haired pirate’s face, and she put a hand on her hip.

  
“All I can say is, from the two-bit little alchemist I knew on the Isle, you’ve done a lot of growing up, Blue,” she said. “Alright, I’m with you. I’ll have everyone at New Dragon Hall tonight, and we’ll end this once and for all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally things start to get exciting. Has Varian truly figured out his real identity? Who’s leaving the mysterious clues? And what is this sacrifice Via might have to make? Leave me a comment if you enjoyed the chapter, and I’ll be back next week!


	14. Questions and Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via reveals the true nature of her plan to the assembled villains. On Neverland, Varian confronts Rapunzel, demanding to know the truth about his past.

Uma was nothing if not true to her word. When Via walked into New Dragon Hall that night alongside her mother, she found herself confronted with a sea of faces. Every single villain that had ever set foot on the Isle, from Maleficent down to the tiniest goblin, stood there, all of them chattering excitedly amongst themselves and periodically calling out a vague threat to the heroes that never failed to be greeted with a round of cheers. Most of them, at least those who weren’t already armed with magic, carried their new alchemical weapons. It was clear that everyone was in high spirits, and Via swallowed hard. _They trust me. They’re counting on me. They think we’re going to win, and maybe we will. But I can’t know anything for sure. How do I sound sure of myself if I don’t even know this is going to work?_

She caught sight of a group of her school friends, the same girls who had been by her side through the whole awful unfolding of the incident with Silas. She hadn’t spoken much to those girls since everything happened. Those days, when her biggest problem was as insignificant as a cotillion, felt a lifetime ago now. But every one of them offered her an encouraging smile, and after a moment Via managed to return it. She drew a deep breath, collecting her thoughts and pulling herself together. Lady Caine’s hand squeezed her shoulder. “Time to be a villain, Vi,” she said. “When you get up there, you’re not afraid of anything. You’re the girl who broke the barrier, the girl who can handle anything the heroes throw your way, and you make sure everyone here knows it. They’ll follow you anywhere. They’ll trust you if you trust yourself.”

“Is that how you did it?” Via asked. “When you were a captain?”

“That’s how I did it,” Caine answered. “And sometimes, you spend so much time pretending to be confident that in the end, you actually are. Now go on. Get up there and do your dad and me proud.” She squeezed Via’s shoulder again and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the stage. Rudiger, who had been sitting at Via’s feet like an oversized, fluffy puppy, scrambled up her leg as if it were a ladder and assumed his usual position as a scarf, patting at Via’s face with a little chirp of encouragement. Via laughed, feeling her face settle into the old, familiar, evil grin. She took the stairs up to the stage two at a time.

“Excuse me,” she said, trying to cut through the chatter. Nothing happened, and she tried again. “Could I have everyone’s attention, please?”

Still nothing. _Be a villain, Vi._

Right. She was a villain. Polite requests weren’t a thing she did. She cupped her hands to her mouth. “Hey, listen up!”

That did it. The room quieted instantly, the same way it would have if it was Maleficent or the Evil Queen or Ursula speaking. Her smile widened. Oh, how she and her father had once dreamed of this, back before she had ever crossed the bridge to Auradon, when they were minor villains barely noticed by anyone. How different things were now. How far they’d come. _If I can do all that, I can do this._

She didn’t bother with any sort of preamble. “Alright, so you all know why you’re here,” she said. “I’ve been masterminding a few things over on Neverland, and I figured I’d better explain what they are before we head into battle.”

“How‘ve you done anything on Neverland, girlie?” Harry Hook demanded. “You’re not over there.”

“No, I’m not,” Via answered, “but somebody else is.”

A buzz ran around the room, villains whispering back and forth, trying to figure out who she was talking about, but there was no sign of recognition on any faces. Via rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. Did you really think I’d just abandon Gavin like I did if there wasn’t something else at work? I might be a villain, but a good sidekick’s something you hold onto. He’s over there right now, doing the same thing I did- pretending to go good while he works from the inside. It was all his plan, actually. I didn’t like the idea of it at first. Actually, I told him he was crazy. But it was the only thing that gave us a real shot at getting my father back, so finally I gave in. Besides, it kinda had to be Gavin. There’s no way they’d let me pull the same trick twice.”

The buzz increased in volume as the villains caught onto what she’d been up to. She glanced over to where Lady Caine stood. Her mother was smiling, and as she caught Via’s eye, she mouthed the words “I knew it.” Via smiled herself at that, but it wasn’t without a twinge of pain; even her mother could never guess what she was planning to do if Gavin’s efforts to bring Varian back to reality failed. No one else could know that secret, not unless she had to use it, and she hoped against hope that she didn’t have to. From something like that, there was no going back.

“Alright, another question,” Harry said, propping a hand on his hip and ignoring the way Uma elbowed him. “Why’s your dad so important anyway? He’s just one person.”

That caused an uproar, and Via frowned a little. From the sound of it, most of the villains didn’t seem to appreciate Harry’s question. But there were some, now that the subject had been raised, who were asking it themselves. If she was going to keep control, she had better answer it. And she had to do it now.

“In the first place, he’s one of our own,” she said. “That should be enough. But if it isn’t, then think about this. If we try to do anything, they’re gonna have Dad out there fighting against us. If you want to land on Neverland just to get a face full of alchemy, you be my guest, but that’s not something I’d like to do with my life. Now if you wanna shut up so I can explain the plan, here’s what we’re gonna do...”

* * *

Varian only barely made it back to his room before his legs seemed to stop working. He slid down against the wall, one hand still pressed to his mouth and the other one still gripping the history book. He felt sick, his mind whirling, trying to grasp the story he’d just read. A story that told of a different version of himself. A version that belonged only to his nightmares.

Or so he’d thought. But now here it was, written as if it were true. First his dreams had come to life, and now it was as if his nightmares were doing the same. And it terrified him.

_Remember what’s real._

The words blasted back into his mind, and he cried out, his eyes going wide with sudden terror. “No,” he sobbed. “No, it can’t be. That’s not real. That’s not me, that’s not who I am, I’m not...”

He trailed off. Once he might have been able to convince himself that this was all some trick. But those persistent feelings that something wasn’t right...could this be what they were warning him of? That unexplainable idea that every other hero knew something he didn’t...was this what they knew? That he was evil? That he wasn’t a hero at all? That he had, as Gavin had said, changed sides?

For a long moment he sat there, his eyes glazed over and his heart pounding in his chest. He clutched the book closer without knowing he was doing it. The book had said nothing about Gavin, nothing about that girl who looked so eerily like him, but he knew somehow that this terrible story was connected to the dreams. He would have given anything to know for sure that this wasn’t true, that this wasn’t real. But he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. “I don’t even know who I am,” he whispered.

And then, slowly, a feeling crept into his heart, a feeling he hadn’t known in a long time, a feeling that was almost foreign to the hero he believed himself to be. Anger. Red hot anger that brought a spark of fire to his blue eyes made him clench his jaw. Now he understood why his fellow heroes seemed so uneasy around him. Now he understood why King Frederic had kept such a close eye on him. Now he understood why Rapunzel always looked so nervous.

Because she was hiding the truth. They all were. They all knew what he was, knew he had been a villain. He couldn’t remember it, of course, but here it was, black ink on white paper. But if he had been a villain, he wasn’t one any longer. And yet the heroes- the people he thought he was a part of- had kept the truth from him any longer. Because they didn’t trust him. Because Rapunzel didn’t trust him. After everything he’d done for her-

It surprised him, how angry he was. His blood boiled with fury, and he clenched his fists. “I don’t know who I am,” he repeated. “But I know who does. And I want some answers.”

Suddenly he felt more resolved, more determined than he’d ever felt in his life. He scrambled to his feet, tucking the book under his arm, and stared at himself in the mirror. He looked different somehow, when he was angry like this. Yes, he decided, it wasn’t a hard thing to imagine. There could be darkness in the eyes that looked back at him now.

And apparently, once upon a time, there had been. It was time to find out why no one had bothered to tell him that.

He turned his back on the mirror and slammed the door behind him, his steps swift and sure. He stopped a fairy in the hall, asking where Rapunzel was, and for the first time he understood the fear that leapt immediately to her face. But something in his expression told the fairy it would be useless to try to change his mind, and she pointed him in the direction of the familiar room where the heroes did most of their planning, her voice shaking only a little. He didn’t bother thanking her, all but running in the direction of the room.

It wasn’t only Rapunzel he found. From the number of surprised faces that turned towards him as he flung open the door, he’d interrupted some sort of important meeting. Plenty of good’s leaders were gathered around the table- King Ben and his father, Queen Elsa of Arendelle and her daughter, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, Fairy Godmother, Silas, Aurora and her daughter. But his attention was only focused on one of them. And now he knew exactly why she had turned suddenly pale.

He didn’t waste words. “We need to talk, Rapunzel.”

Her voice was soft, and she glanced helplessly around at the other heroes. “In...in a minute, Varian.”

“No. Now.” He stepped forward into the room and slammed the book down on the table with a crash that caused several of the gathered heroes to jump in their seats. “Because you’ve been lying to me, and I want an explanation.” He turned the pages until he reached the one that bore his own name and slid it across the table to her. “I want to know what this is. Why this book tells the story of a past I don’t even remember, and why you never bothered to tell me about any of it. I need to know if I was ever really...this. And I need to know why you, all of you-“ he glanced around to include the whole assembly in the statement- “kept the truth from me.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“And I need to know now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only six chapters left to go! We’re really getting into the heart of the story now. And yes, I realize that most people probably guessed that Gavin was working with Via all along, but I hope it still kept you guessing long enough to interest you in how things turn out from here! Drop me a comment if you liked the chapter, and I’ll see you next week!


	15. The Truth?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian demands the truth from Rapunzel and the heroes, only to find that the answers aren’t what he expected. Meanwhile, Via and the villains head into battle for one final conflict against the forces of good.

Rapunzel licked her lips, her green eyes wide and frightened. Once, Varian might have felt bad about that, might have felt a little pity for her. But now, he felt nothing of the kind. He kept his gaze locked with hers, his blue eyes hard and cold. He noticed, for the first time, that her hands were shaking. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, seemingly searching for something to say. “The truth, Rapunzel,” Varian ordered, his voice soft but steely, allowing no argument.

The princess swallowed hard, her freckles standing out harshly against the paleness of her face. “I...I...”

“You’re not one of them, Varian.”

It was another voice that broke the silence, a voice that Varian knew well. He turned towards the doorway, his eyes widening. Cassandra stood there, in full armor, leaning against the doorframe. There was something in her face that had never really been there before. Compassion, mixed with something almost like sadness. It was a kind, caring expression, and it surprised him.

“Don’t blame Rapunzel,” she said. “And don’t blame anyone else. I’m the one who said we shouldn’t tell you the truth.”

“And what is the truth?” He was losing his anger now. Slowly, slowly, the hot fury was replacing itself with something more familiar to him- fear.

Cassandra drew a long sigh. “That book is a trick, Varian. An insidious, devious trick. And I have a very good guess how it ended up here, but I’ll save that for a private conversation with Rapunzel.” She glanced meaningfully at the princess before she continued. “A year ago, after the villains made their escape from the Isle...well, they got their hands on a particularly powerful bit of magic called the Wand of Oblivium, which can be used to rewrite a person’s memories. And they wanted your alchemy, your weapons, so they used it to rewrite yours. They used it to convince you that you hated us.” She blinked, as if her eyes were wet. “That you were a villain. You lived like that for almost a year before we rescued you and had Fairy Godmother restore your real memories. But villains are sore losers. They’ve decided that you belong to their side, so they’re trying anything they can to get you back. But it’s not real. None of it is real, no matter how convincing or compelling it may seem. It’s all a lie. Lying to get what they want is what evil does best. And in this case, what they want is you.”

Varian almost collapsed with relief. It made sense, what Cassandra was saying. Magic could do strange and incredible things, especially when it was dark magic. There was another explanation for the book. He wasn’t evil. He wasn’t a monster. And if the book was a trick, then so were the dreams, and so was the girl called Via. He could go on with his life now, do his part to help the heroes, without having to worry that there was something he wasn’t being told. They trusted him. They knew his heart was good.

“Are you okay?” Rapunzel stood up from her chair and came to stand beside him, laying a gentle hand on his arm. He nodded, mustering up a wan smile.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, I just thought...I was so convinced that I was a monster, so convinced that you knew something I didn’t. I’m sorry I doubted you, Rapunzel. I should know better than that. You’ve never let me down before.” The princess smiled, accepting the apology, and Varian went on. “I’m so relieved to hear that it was all some magical illusion. I’ve never let magic have power over me and I’m not about to start now.”

A round of applause from the gathered heroes greeted the statement, and he flushed red. “Well, then,” King Ben’s father declared in his booming voice, “it appears that this rather dramatic debacle has its happy ending after all. I suggest, Varian, that you go and get some rest. I’m sure this whole ordeal has been very stressful for you.”

Varian nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. I’m sorry again, Rapunzel. I’ll think twice before assuming the worst next time.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rapunzel reassured him. He turned around, heading back towards the door, and the assembled heroes watched in silence until it had closed behind him and they were sure he had vanished down the hall and out of earshot.

And then chaos broke loose. “Cass!” Rapunzel cried. “How could you say that? You just basically told him exactly what happened, except you reversed the roles!”

“Exactly. I’ve had that story planned out for awhile now just in case something like this happened. And it worked. He bought it and now we don’t have to worry about him turning on us. Which is good, because we have more important things to worry about. It’s obvious the Wand of Oblivium’s hold on him isn’t as strong as I thought it was. The sooner we put down this little villain rebellion and get them back on the Isle where they belong, the sooner we can look into finding a way to make our alternate reality a permanent fixture.”

“You really think we can do that?” Rapunzel asked.

“It’s magic,” Cassandra replied. “If you look hard enough, you can find a spell or a potion that’ll do anything you can imagine.”

King Ben cleared his throat. “I just don’t understand how that book showed up in the first place. Every hero on this island knows how important it is to keep Varian from finding out about the illusion. None of us would have left something like that lying around.”

“No, of course not,” Cassandra agreed. “But I know who did. There’s only one person who would have done something like that and I can’t believe we fell for it.”

“What?” Elsa asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Cassandra’s face was dark with anger. “If I had to guess, I’d say Via’s little sidekick is following in her footsteps as an inside man.”

* * *

“Well, that’s the last of it, Via,” Lady Caine declared. “More alchemy than you can shake a stick at. You’ve done a good job getting all of this ready.”

Via sighed, squinting into the sky to watch a seagull gliding above the villains’ small collection of ships. “What else did I have to focus on?” she asked. “This war’s the only important thing right now. We’ve got to get Dad back, and Gavin too. And then we need to take our happily ever after back, and keep it this time.”

“Your plan’s a good one,” Caine said. “We can do this. Let’s just hope Gavin’s done his job and your father’s on his way out of this magical fog. The heroes have gotten a glimpse of what Varian can do up close and personal. If I had to bet, I’d pretty much count on none of them having the spine to face us once we’ve got him back.”

“Nah, there’ll be a few,” Uma said, coming up behind them without a word of introduction. “There always are. A little handful of diehards who don’t know when to give up even when the rest of them run. King Ben will be one, probably. And Mal and the rest of her little gang. Maybe a few more.”

“Mal’s no problem,” Via answered. “We’ll just let her mother handle her. Actually, we can do the same thing with Carlos and Jay and Evie too, and any of the rest of the kids who went good. I don’t see Cassandra and Caden running away from the fight, but I don’t mind that. I’m actually looking forward to going another round with Caden. She’s had it out for me for forever.”

“She might not be the one to beat for ya, Blue,” Uma pointed out. “After all, we did let Silas go.”

“He’s not a problem either,” Via said darkly. “If he thinks he’s gonna smooth-talk me into changing my mind, he’s got another thing coming. I won’t hesitate a minute to rearrange that gorgeous face.”

Uma smirked. “I did notice we lost the automatons,” she said. “Not that kind of a battle, is it?”

“Not really. We need to be able to move quick for this one, and we have to keep the element of surprise. Besides, I’m not really fighting. My job’s to infiltrate, find Gavin and my dad and get them out of harm’s way before chaos breaks loose. We’ve still got plenty of alchemy on board, though. My dad’s fingerprints are all over this battle, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

Subconsciously, she slipped a hand into the pocket of her jeans, running her fingers over the two tiny glass vials tucked inside. Out of all the alchemical weapons making the trip to Neverland, these were more than likely the most important. Her last resort, the last-ditch attempt to bring back Varian’s memories. If she ended up having to use it, if the two vials didn’t make the trip back-

“Then neither will I,” Via whispered, low enough that her mother and Uma couldn’t hear her. One way or another, she wasn’t heading back to Auradon without Varian, even if that meant she never came back at all.

She glanced around at the assembled villains, almost overcome by the sheer numbers. There had been plenty who stayed home from the first battle, but that was far from the case for this one. Every last citizen of the Isle had shown up in full force, donning all their villainous finery. They looked, to put it simply, like an evil army. And that was just what Via needed.

“Rally the troops, Mom,” she said. “Let’s get this thing underway.”

Lady Caine needed no further invitation. She leapt onto the deck of Uma’s ship, which was serving as the lead vessel. In no time at all she was halfway up the rigging, leaning out over the assembled crowd and cupping a hand to her mouth so that they could all be sure to hear her. “Alright!” she bellowed. “No need to beat around the bush- let’s get moving! Find a ship, get on it, and get ready for battle. No more back and forth, no more good vs. evil, no more going around in circles. One way or another, this all ends today. It’s happy ever after for one side on that battlefield, and if I have anything to say about it, it’s gonna be ours. Who’s with me?”

A shout of agreement went up, some villains even pumping fists in the air. Via shouted right along with them, adrenaline flowing freely through her now. This was it. This was the end of everything she had ever worked for, everything she’d set in motion when she broke the barrier between good and evil. For as long as she could remember, the age-old conflict had raged, and most of it had been very one-sided. But now the tables had turned, and she was more than ready to bring about the finale that no one had ever expected. At long last, she would be able to write “The End” and close the storybook. It would all be over after today.

“And then the only thing left to do,” she whispered, “is live happily ever after.”

She reached down to brush her fingers over the vials in her pocket again without really realizing she was doing it. Unlike everyone else, she had two things to worry about. She could only hope it was her side that won the happy ending.

And she could only hope she was there to see it.

Somewhere on one of the other ships, Maleficent and the other magical villains must have cast their spell. The evil fleet leapt forward over the waves with far more speed than any ship would normally have, setting course for Neverland and the heroes. Via stared out over the horizon, mustering up all the courage she could.

_I’m coming, Dad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I’m so sorry I haven’t replied to any comments on the last few chapters. Life has been incredibly crazy for me lately; I had a medical emergency with a family member that made the last few weeks a little interesting. But everything is fine now, and I’m looking forward to getting this thing wrapped up! Obviously, Varian’s path to remembering the truth isn’t quite over yet. And neither is this story. We’ve got a long way to go and I’m so excited for you guys to read the ending of Via’s saga. Leave me a comment if you enjoyed the chapter (and I promise I’ll reply to them this time!)


	16. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and Cassandra confront their suspected traitor...and Via’s long-awaited moment of triumph doesn’t go as planned.

Rapunzel twisted a long strand of golden hair around her finger in the way that meant she was nervous. She had to hurry to keep pace with Cassandra’s quick, angry strides. “Do you really think it was Gavin, Cass? I mean, I’ve been working with him! I thought he’d come a long way!”

“He has come a long way,” Cassandra agreed. “Down a really dark path. I thought that kid was nothing but a spineless little idiot taking Via’s orders. It’s pretty clear she’s toughened him up a little. I’d say he’s almost as bad as she is. And right now, he’s the bigger threat.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s here, in reach of Varian, and Via’s not.” Cassandra’s green eyes were cold as she swung open the door of the room that had become Gavin’s.

There was nothing immediately suspicious. The room was neat, organized, tidy in a way that was unusual for a villain. And Gavin himself sat in a chair by the window with a book open in his lap. He glanced up at them as they entered, a look of surprise on his face, and pushed his glasses farther up onto his nose. “Rapunzel? Everything okay?”

Rapunzel opened her mouth, but Cassandra beat her to it. “Everything’s fine. Except it almost wasn’t. Seems like somebody’s been leaving little clues meant to tip Varian off as to his real identity.” She leaned close, her hands on her hips, her eyes accusing. “Any idea who that might be?”

Gavin laughed a little, almost carelessly. “Oh. That.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra growled. “That. I want answers, kid. As far as I’m concerned you’re the only one here who would have tried to pull something like that, so you get one chance to convince me you weren’t behind it before I go straight to the king.”

Gavin shook his head, almost pityingly, crossing his arms behind his head. “Okay, first off, I’m not scared of the king. Ben couldn’t win a battle if his life depended on it unless Mal was there to magic everything for him. And second off, I’m not going to convince you I wasn’t behind it, because of course I was. You don’t think I want my best friend to get her father back?”

Rapunzel had known it was more than likely Gavin at fault, but she had come to like him over the past week or so, and hearing the admission, right from his own mouth without even an attempt at denial, hurt more than she had expected. “I trusted you!” she burst out. “I thought you had changed! I thought you were becoming a hero!”

He shrugged. “Yeah, well, when it comes to my family, you’ve got a history of thinking we’re somebody we’re not. My mother’s a great example of that.”

The words stung, and Rapunzel flinched involuntarily. Gavin only smiled.

“You said Via had betrayed you,” she whispered. “She turned her back on you. You said you were starting to see what she was.”

“And Varian said he was only taking one sundrop petal,” Gavin fired back. “You believed that, too. Via’s just like her dad- a good actor. I guess it rubbed off on me a little, given how easy it was to fool all of you. She didn’t turn her back on me at all, and she never would. She was just doing exactly what I told her to do when I came up with this whole elaborate plot to get Varian back to his real self.”

“If that was the plan, you failed pretty miserably, kid,” Cassandra snapped. “Your little book delivery worked. It got Varian riled up, thinking he used to be one of you. But here’s the thing- that terrified him. He has no desire to go back to evil. He doesn’t want to be one of you, not anymore. Thankfully, I was able to convince him that the whole thing was an elaborate lie you villains cooked up.”

Gavin clicked his tongue. “Probably shouldn’t have done that. He’s just gonna be even angrier when he does wake up and realize what’s real. And I’m pretty sure an angry Varian isn’t something anybody wants to deal with.”

“Did you not hear me? I just told you he wants nothing to do with evil! He hates the idea that he was ever involved with it!” Cassandra was shouting now, and Rapunzel couldn’t blame her. The way Gavin was talking, as if everything was part of the plan and the heroes didn’t hold the upper hand after all, was unnerving. There was something at work here, she thought. Something Cassandra wasn’t aware of yet. And she had no idea what it could be.

Gavin raised his own voice right back, matching Cassandra’s pitch. “Of course he doesn’t want to be a villain right now! He doesn’t have a reason to be one!” He was smiling now, in a sinister way that sent a chill up Rapunzel’s spine. “I just had to get the idea in his head. That was my job, and I did it. Now, as soon as Varian realizes that he’s got something to fight for, it’s all gonna be over. I wouldn’t want to be in your goody two shoes when that happens.”

“Something to fight for?” Cassandra demanded.

“Yep. And it’s on its way right-“

But there something interrupted him. A deep, long note from a horn. Neverland’s alarm signal.

Gavin settled back into his chair, crossing one long leg over the other. “Well, well, well. Speak of the devil.”

Cassandra let out a snarl of frustration. “Come on, Rapunzel. As much as I’d like to finish getting answers out of this little backstabber, we need to go find out whatever’s going on.” She jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t think this is over. We’ll finish this conversation later.”

Cassandra was a threatening individual, and the way she said those words would have terrified anyone else. But Gavin only laughed, his blue eyes bright with anticipation. “No, we won’t,” he said. “Sorry, Cassie. I know what that alarm’s about. Good’s out of time.”

* * *

Via crouched in the rocks above the heroes’ hideout, staring down at the scene in front of her. From the look of it, asking the heroes to surrender was going about as well as she had hoped it would- terribly. But the point wasn’t to actually convince them to surrender. They’d gone into this knowing that would never happen. The point, plain and simply, was to distract the king and his leaders for as long as possible. And Via had chosen a good task force for that: Ursula, Prince Hans, Jafar, and a handful of others. Or, as her mother described it, “everyone who’s got a talent for lying through their teeth.”

But as much as Via would have liked to stay and watch the very tense proceedings happening beneath her, she had her own job to do. She only watched long enough to be sure that most, if not all, of the heroes had come out to see what the villains’ delegation wanted. This was the most important part of this mission, because she knew of one so-called hero who would definitely not be present at that meeting. And with everyone else out on the beach, Via had a clear path to get to him.

“Gavin,” she whispered, “I hope you did your part of your whole crazy plan. Because I really don’t want to have to use _my_ plan.”

It was surprisingly easy to slip into the heroes’ fortress. As she’d expected, the place was empty. The only obstacle now was actually finding her father. Which might just be the biggest obstacle she had to overcome, since she had not the slightest idea where to look.

It was eerie, this massive, empty fortress. It might have been one of the only actual buildings on Neverland, but like this, abandoned and empty, it looked as wild and forlorn as the rest of the island around it. Via moved slowly, trying to fight back her rising apprehension. Her heart was beating quickly, and she forced her hands into fists to stop them shaking. She wasn’t even sure what had her so on edge- the emptiness of the fortress, or the process of seeing her father again. What if Gavin had failed? Or what if he hadn’t, but the magic ordeal had somehow changed her father into someone other than the Varian she knew? The only thing she wanted was to get him back. But she wanted him back just the way he’d left her.

Via took after her father. She had never believed much in the ways of magic. It was helpful here and there, of course, but alchemy could do so much more than magic could. And alchemy was a talent, not just something you could read off the pages of some dusty old spell book. Magic was power. Alchemy was something more important- power that others couldn’t get.

No, she had never believed in magic. But sometimes, she almost felt as if she might have to believe in fate.

And this was one of those times. She hadn’t been looking where she was going, and she hadn’t expected anyone to be in her way. So when she ran straight into someone, landing hard on the ground, she reacted in the way a villain usually did.

“Hey! Why can’t you watch where you’re-“

But there she stopped. Her heart leapt up into her throat, her eyes suddenly stinging. For a moment it was as if her throat went dry, and she could barely manage the shocked whisper that finally escaped her. “Dad?”

It was him. It could only be him. She would know those blue eyes anywhere. But they were staring at her as if she were a stranger.

“It’s you,” he whispered. “It’s you.”

She was almost sobbing now, but it was tears of happiness. She pulled herself to her feet, reaching for his hand, her smile threatening to split her face. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.”

He jerked away from her. The smile slowly slipped away as the truth began to dawn in her mind. Something wasn’t right here. Something, in fact, was very, very wrong.

“It’s me,” she said softly, desperate to make him understand. “It’s me. It’s Via. You know me!”

“No, I don’t!” His cry startled her, both from its volume and the fear in it. She had never seen Varian scared before. “You’re trying to trick me. I know you are. I know everything now. You’re just a dream. It’s all just a dream. I’m not one of you.”

“But you are! You are, you always were, you have to remember! You were supposed to remember, you were supposed to wake up!” She was sobbing again. “Please...Dad, please, please wake up. I’m Via...you know me!”

He turned away from her, terror in his eyes and no recognition in his face. He didn’t know her. He wanted nothing to do with her. He was still in the grip of the heroes and their magic. And she was still on her own.

Out of nowhere a pair of hands fastened on her, throwing her up against the wall. Caden. Dimly she realized who it was in her mind, but she made no effort to fight back. She couldn’t. She was numb. The world was a haze around her and she couldn’t bring herself to care about any of it.

“What are you doing in here?” Caden shouted. “Thinking you’ll win him over, huh? Is that what your whole little distraction was all about? Well, sorry you came all this way, then. He’s picked his side.” She softened her voice, calling out to Varian. “You can go. I’ll handle her. She’s only trying to trick you.”

“No!” Now Via did struggle against Caden’s hold, desperate to get through to him somehow. “No, don’t, don’t go! This isn’t real, I’m real, you know I’m real, please!”

He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes wide and frightened, shaking his head in denial. “You’re only a dream,” he whispered again.

And then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this one took me a little longer, guys! I’ve had the chapter written, but Monday was crazy busy. But here it is! We’re in the endgame stretch now, and I’m very excited for y’all to see how Via’s story ends! Leave me a comment if you enjoyed the chapter!


	17. The Last Resort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via and Gavin meet again, and Via, reeling from her failure to rescue her father, sets her final plan into action.

It was strange how quickly things could change. That was the only thought that managed to register in Via’s mind. She had gone from complete confidence in her carefully planned scheme to complete happiness at seeing Varian again. And now here she was, sitting alone in a makeshift prison cell in the heroes’ fortress, replaying the moment she’d met her father over and over in her mind. He had recognized her, hadn’t he? Or at least, he almost had. “It’s you.” That was what he had said. Somewhere, deep inside him, he knew who she was. But the magic was still holding him, still preventing him from reaching that part of his memory that was really real. Gavin had done his best. She knew that. But his best- and hers too- hadn’t been good enough. 

As if her thoughts of him had summoned him, Caden’s footsteps sounded outside the room. She swung the door open, shoving Gavin inside with a smirk that would have been more at home on a villain’s face. “I imagine you two have some catching up to do,” she sneered. “And some commiserating on how it all went so wrong. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get out there and help my mother put down the rest of your pathetic little rebellion.” She shook her head, laughing a little. “I just can’t believe it, Via. You’re so smart. You should have figured this out a long time ago. I don’t know how you could have thought you were ever, ever going to win. You should know how this works for your side by now.” She shrugged a shoulder carelessly. “Happily never after. Good thing your dad jumped ship, isn’t it?” The door slammed behind her, leaving Gavin and Via on their own.

Slowly, wincing a little, Gavin picked himself up. “Is it just me, or is she the most villainous hero I’ve ever seen?”

When Via didn’t answer, his face took on a more serious look, and he sat down next to her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m guessing you ran into your dad, huh?”

Via nodded.

“And he didn’t recognize you?”

At that, Via couldn’t hold back a bitter little laugh. “Oh, he recognized me, alright. He thought I was a dream. He didn’t know I was real.” Her hand curled into a fist. “And he didn’t want me to be. They’ve done a lot more than just make him forget who he is, Gavin. They’ve made him terrified of his true self.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And...and me.”

Gavin drew a long sigh. “Look, Via, I’m sorry. I never thought it wouldn’t work. I knew the heroes were specifically interested in erasing you from his mind. Everything else was just an afterthought. So I thought if I could make him remember everything else first, you’d...come back into his mind somehow. I guess it was a stupid plan.”

“No. No, it wasn’t.” Via placed her hand over his. “It was a good plan, Gavin. A really good plan. Just as good as anything I could have come up with. And it would have worked if...if he had wanted it to. It’s not magic that’s keeping him prisoner anymore. It’s himself. He’s not remembering because he’s scared to. I think he knows, deep down, what the truth is. He just doesn’t want it to be true.”

“Then what do we do? How do we make him want something he’s terrified of? How do we make him accept who he really is?”

Via didn’t answer. Her eyes were unfocused now, glazing over as she stared at the bare stone wall, lost in thought. And Gavin knew her well enough to know that look, the look that meant her mind was at work, and she only needed time to figure out her next steps.

Wisely, he changed the subject. “How do you think everyone else is doing out there? Do you think the battle’s started yet?”

“Probably. Ben’s realized that the whole terms-of-surrender thing was a distraction by now. If he hasn’t, he’s an even bigger idiot than I thought.”

“Then wouldn’t he be in here? Questioning us or something? I mean, you got right into their fortress, Via. That’s a pretty big deal. Call me crazy, but the king might want to deal with that, wouldn’t you say?”

“Well, yeah. Unless my mom got things started and it’s all one big free-for-all out there. Like it was last time.”

“I don’t hear anything.”

“We wouldn’t hear it. Not down here. But somehow I don’t think my mom would just sit there and wait for me. For one thing, that’s even more suspicious than asking them to surrender. They would know for sure something was up if she did that. And for another thing, my mom’s pretty good at figuring stuff out. I’m not back yet, and I should be, so she knows something’s wrong.”

Gavin tilted his head to one side, considering their options. “So,” he said slowly. “Best case scenario, the rest of the villains battle their way in here and we’re miraculously saved. Which leaves us with one minor problem- we’re gonna have to essentially kidnap your dad to get him to come with us. And somehow I don’t think that’s gonna win him over.”

“Nope.” Via popped the P in the word, crossing her arms over her chest. Still thinking. Still mulling over her options. Her heart was pounding, and her stomach ached strangely. She felt sick. She knew what she had to do, and she had thought she was prepared to do it. But now that she’d actually have to-

_I’m terrified._

“And worst case scenario,” Gavin finished, “nothing goes our way and we lose. Again. Your dad stays a fake hero and we’re back on the Isle forever.”

Via didn’t answer, and Gavin glanced sharply at her. “Hey, what’s up with you? You’re pretty pale. I can count your freckles. Something wrong?”

She looked at him, but she still couldn’t form words. Gavin’s eyes widened, and he squeezed her hand. “Via. You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“I had another plan, Gavin,” Via whispered. “A backup plan, in case this one didn’t work. I was going to...well, I thought this might happen. And if he was afraid to accept the truth, then I was going to make him even more afraid _not_ to accept it. I was going to show him the consequences. I had...two little vials...”

She didn’t explain further, but she didn’t have to. Gavin knew her well, and he knew exactly what she was referring to. “Oh my gosh, Via, are you insane? No way I would have let you do something like that. Not to mention your mom, she would have gone absolutely nuts. Besides, what good does it do if we get your dad back and lose you in the process?” Impulsively, he reached out and pulled her against his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder, grateful for one thing at least that felt familiar, felt normal. She’d hang onto that as long as she could. Which probably wouldn’t be long.

“We’ll find another way, Via,” Gavin said softly. “There’s always another way for the heroes. Why should we be any different? We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

 _I promise._ Those words- those words that had meant more to her family than any others, that had started it all in the first place- were the catalyst she needed. Her father had made her a promise, hadn’t he? A promise that he was going to come home to her. And if he couldn’t keep it...

 _Then I’ll have to keep it for him._ Slowly, slowly, the thudding of Via’s heart eased. Her breathing calmed itself, and a deep, settled stillness fell over her. The pain numbed to a dull ache, and she drew in a shuddering breath. When she spoke, her voice no longer shook.

“Gavin,” she said softly. “Gavin, I still have them. Those vials. I brought them with me.”

“What?” A crinkle appeared between Gavin’s brows, and then suddenly his eyes widened. “Via, no. I’m not letting you use those!”

“Gavin.” Via smiled a sad smile at him. “This is how it has to be, alright? This is the only way. I’m not going back to the Isle. I’m not living the rest of my life there without my father. I couldn’t stand that. This...maybe this will make him remember me. And if it doesn’t...if this is how my story’s gonna end...then at least I won’t have to face the Isle without him.”

“You’re sacrificing yourself on the off chance that maybe it’ll make him remember you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, Gavin, that’s what I’m doing.”

“But Via, what if it doesn’t work? What if he doesn’t remember? Are you really willing to give everything up?”

“What everything?” Via laughed a little. “I’ve got nothing left now. The Isle and Auradon are back to the way they were. Tomorrow morning, the heroes are going to undo everything I ever did. I shouldn’t have tried to do any of this, Gavin. I shouldn’t have tried to be the inside girl, the hero of the villains. I shouldn’t have tried to get my family a happy ending. Villains don’t get those. I should have stayed on the Isle, where I belonged, and not tried to change the way things are. I should have kept my mouth shut. I never should have tried to fight back. And I can’t fight back anymore. I don’t have any fight left in me, Gavin. I’m...I’m tired. Maybe this works, maybe it doesn’t. But it’s all I can do. It’s the only way to maybe have a relationship with my father again. I don’t have a choice. This is how it has to be.”

Gavin’s voice broke. “But it shouldn’t be like that! This isn’t fair. We should get our chance at happily ever afters, too.”

“But we won’t. The heroes will never let us have that. Life isn’t fair, Gavin. Nobody ever promised us fair.”

“Via-“ He reached out and gripped her hand again. “Don’t,” he pleaded. “Not yet. This is the last resort.”

“And it’s the only resort I have,” Via said. Gently, she moved his hand away from hers. “This war isn’t going to get us anywhere, Gavin. There’s always going to be good and evil. We’re going around in circles, and I should have seen that sooner. I don’t care about wiping out the heroes now. None of that matters. None of that ever mattered. I know what I want now. I know what my wish is. I know what my happy ending looks like. The heroes are wrong about me. I don’t want to win, not anymore. I don’t want to turn the tables. I just want the same thing Dad wanted all those years ago.” Her voice broke. “I just want my family back together.”

There were tears in Gavin’s eyes now. “If this doesn’t work-“ he began.

“Then at least I chose my story’s ending. Even if it isn’t a happy one. Thank you, Gavin. For everything. If this works, if this makes my dad remember me-“

“Then I’ll be there,” Gavin whispered. “Waiting for you. Right by your side. Always.”

Via smiled. Then, without another word, she crossed to the back wall of the cell and sat down against it, drawing her knees up and resting her head on them. _My last resort. The only thing I can do. I’ve given everything else to win this fight. Now the only thing I can give is myself._

For the rest of that long, long day, she didn’t let herself look up. She had to focus now. She had to get herself ready for what she was about to do. _Dad_ , she whispered silently, over and over again as the hours ticked by, _please let this work. Please remember. This is all I have left. Just me. Just Via. Please let that be enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so close to the endgame, guys! I can’t wait for everyone who’s followed this story for so many years to see how it all ends. And I’m planning a special surprise when we reach the final chapter, so stay tuned and leave me a comment if you enjoyed!


	18. Unhappy Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the villains’ last chance of victory sliding out of their grasp, and Varian lost to the magic that’s erased his memories, Via has no choice but to put her last plan into action.

Via had no idea how long she and Gavin sat there in silence. There was no way to tell how much time was passing, no way to know how the battle was going. For all Via knew, the war she’d tried so hard to win was already over.

Once in a while Gavin would try to talk to her, try to convince her not to do what she had already set her mind on doing. But she didn’t let herself listen to him. Partly because she didn’t have a choice about doing it...and partly because she wanted more than anything else to do what he was saying, to find another way. But she couldn’t. There _was_ no other way. And eventually, as the hours wore on and she refused to look up, Gavin realized he was wasting his breath and fell silent.

After what felt like an eternity, that silence was broken by the creak of the door as it swung open and the sharp, staccato sound of Caden’s boots approaching down the hall. “Get up,” she ordered gruffly, without any other word by way of explanation. Via and Gavin glanced at each other as they obeyed. Gavin’s eyes held a silent question, and in answer Via put her hand subtly to the pocket where the two small vials still lay. Gavin glanced away quickly, and Via’s heart ached. She almost reached out, just to take his hand, but Caden was already ushering them down the hall.

Down the hall...and out of the fortress. Via found herself blinking in the sudden Neverland sunlight, trying to get her bearings and figure out why they’d been brought out here. But as soon as she had asked herself the question, she had already gotten her answer.

It was a standoff. Apparently both sides had won a handful of small victories, and now neither one could make a move. On the villains’ side, Mal’s three little compatriots- Evie, Jay, and Carlos- had somehow managed to get themselves captured by Uma and Harry. And with the threat of both the villains’ magic and Via’s alchemical weapons, none of the heroes could do a thing to rescue them.

_Of course, none of the villains can do anything to rescue me and Gavin either. So that’s why we’re out here. We’re bargaining chips._

“I’m still not sure we should be letting these two go,” Caden announced to Ben as soon as she was within earshot of the young ruler, who- to Via’s surprise- looked more tired than anything else. “Her, especially. They’ve caused more trouble than any other villain I can think of.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Ben said wearily. He raised his voice. “Alright, Caine. You got what you wanted. You can see they’re both safe. Hand over Evie, Jay and Carlos, and you’ll get them back.”

“In a heartbeat,” Caine answered, and Via’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of her mother’s voice. _Oh, Mom. You have no idea what I’m about to do. I just hope you understand why I’m doing it._ “Except, wait a minute, that’s not exactly a fair deal, is it, two for three?” Caine’s voice dropped until it was as hard as iron. “You’ve still got one of our own. And I’m not leaving without him.”

“Yes, you are.”

The voice wasn’t Ben’s. And in spite of herself, Via startled when she heard it. 

She hadn’t expected to see her father out here in the middle of things. She would have expected that they’d keep him safely in the depths of the fortress, for fear that the magic might break. But really, Via asked herself, why did they need to worry about that? The curse was clearly a lot stronger than any of the villains had counted on. Varian had looked right at her, right into his daughter’s eyes, and the curse hadn’t broken. If that didn’t shatter the magic and restore his memories back to the way they were, then what would?

_These, I hope._ Via slipped a hand into her pocket again and closed her fist around the two vials, getting ready to use them. It was a good thing Varian was out here, she decided. This way he would get to see every step of her last plan, not just the aftermath of it. This way, if she failed, she would know she had exhausted every possible spark of hope.

For a moment, Lady Caine looked taken aback at the sight of her husband. But she was a pirate; she knew how to think on her feet. Quickly she erased any sign of shock or softness from her features, propping one hand on her hip. “You’re coming home with us, Varian. We’re not leaving this island any other way, no matter what happens.”

“That’s not my home,” Varian countered. But unlike Lady Caine, there was no sharpness, no determination to his words. He just sounded...lost. Empty. Hopeless. The things he was saying were just empty words that the heroes had placed in his mind. There was no real meaning, no conviction behind them. How could there be? The life he thought he was fighting for was a life that wasn’t really real. “I know the truth,” he continued. “I know that you tricked me. I know you’re trying to make me one of you. But I’m not, and I never will be, and I never want to be. I don’t want anything to do with you, any of you. I know better.”

An angry rumble swept through the crowds of villains. Via saw fists clench, saw scowls envelop many familiar faces. “Well, there you have it,” she heard a random pirate growl. “He’s made his choice. He’s a traitor. If that’s what he wants, I say we let him have it!” Despite the black look that Lady Caine and Uma immediately sent in the man’s direction, more than one voice murmured agreement.

It was now or never. Via closed her hand around the vials, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

“You don’t know anything, Dad.”

The words were simple, but a hush fell over the crowd anyway. No one moved a muscle. No one tried to stop her as she turned to face Varian. The eyes of both sides were watching her now, but Via didn’t care about them. The only eyes that mattered to her were the ones she was looking into, the blue ones that looked exactly like her own.

They were hard, and guarded, and he shook his head. “I’m not your-“

“Yes,” Via interrupted. “Yes, you are. You’re a villain and a genius and the furthest thing there could be from a hero. And you’re my father.”

“But I don’t-“

“Remember me? Yeah. That’s the point. You weren’t supposed to. These heroes?” She held out a hand to indicate the assembled forces of good. “They knew you were dangerous, especially when you were working with me. We did amazing things together, Dad. We freed the whole Isle. And they were scared of what we might do next. They had to get you out of the way somehow. So they did this. They changed your memories. And then they convinced you that it was the other way around and we were the ones who’d done that to you. They convinced you that you remembered what was real.”

Varian startled a little, looking at her with a new interest. He still looked lost, uncertain, but there was something starting to flicker in his face. Something like the Varian she had once known, like the person he was supposed to be. A little hint of hope rose up in Via’s heart. Maybe, just maybe, she could get through to him after all.

“You said that to me,” he said softly. “Before. In a dream. I saw you.”

Oh. Now Via understood why he had been so shocked to see her. The magic hadn’t succeeded in erasing her from his memory, not completely. It had only succeeded in convincing him that she was a dream. A phantom, a spectre, something that wasn’t really real. But just the fact that he hadn’t forgotten her entirely gave her a little bit of hope. She was still in there somewhere. Like she’d told Gavin, somewhere deep down in his magic-muddled memories, he knew what the truth was. She just had to get him to see it. To accept it.

And that, of course, was going to be the hard part.

Via allowed herself a hard, bitter little laugh. “I’m a lot more than a dream, Dad. I’m real, and I always was. These people?” She held her hand out toward the heroes again. “They’re not your friends. They’re just using you. And that shouldn’t surprise you. After all, that’s really the only thing they’ve ever done.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Cassandra snapped. Via hadn’t even seen her come up behind Varian. But that didn’t matter now. She was so close. She could see, in his eyes, that she was breaking through.

But she didn’t have much time. It was a miracle the heroes hadn’t made a move to silence her already. They weren’t just going to let her keep talking forever. If she was going to snap Varian out of it, she had to do it quickly. “And deep down,” she continued, speeding the pace of her voice, “deep down, you know it, don’t you?”

Varian blinked, the empty look in his replaced with confusion. Undecided, Via thought. Well, she’d rather have that then the alternative. She’d rather see her father unable to make up his mind then see him on the side of the heroes.

“You can’t possibly be thinking about believing this,” Cassandra snarled, but Via was already talking.

“You don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to think at all. You just have to do what the heroes have done for centuries before this. Ask yourself what your heart tells you.”

Varian was staring at her now. Blinking too quickly, doing the best he could to come to his decision. But in the back of Via’s mind, alarm bells were ringing.

Something wasn’t right. Why were the heroes just letting her do this? Why weren’t they intervening? Something was going on here. And she had to find out what.

She watched her father’s face carefully, trying to get some clue as to what was going on behind the scenes. Something in his eyes looked strange. Unnatural. He shook his head as if he were trying to clear it, but his eyes looked...foggy. And Cassandra was keeping so close behind him...

Suddenly Gavin’s sharp cry split the air. “Uh, Via?”

And then she saw it. The small, sparkling something in Cassandra’s hand. What was it Caden had said, way back in Corona when she’d first told Via about Varian’s lost memories? The Wand of Oblivium?

Her breath caught in her throat. Now she understood why the heroes were letting her try to get through to her father, why no one was doing anything to stop her. Because they knew she wouldn’t succeed. They knew, as soon as Via started to break through, that Cassandra could wipe his memories all over again.

“No!” she cried out, but Cassandra was already moving. There was a bright flash, and Via flung her arm over her eyes. When she opened them again, Varian’s face had regained its blank, empty look.

“Dad?” Her voice was almost frantic.

But he shook his head. “You’re only a dream,” he whispered again. And Via’s heart dropped down like a stone inside her.

But she wasn’t finished yet. She still had her last resort.

“The only thing I wanted was my family back together,” she said. “I wanted you back, Dad. Like you wanted your father back. Do you remember?”

No recognition flickered in his eyes. And Via’s own eyes filled with tears.

“That’s okay,” she whispered. “You will.”

She let the two vials drop from her hand. The glass shattered; there was a harsh and all too familiar crack. She raised her head and smiled at her father, and then the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endgame, y’all.


	19. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via’s last plan reaches its conclusion.

Gavin saw everything.

He had already known what Via was going to do. And he prided himself on being a good sidekick, so he’d done his best to talk her out of it. But Via was not exactly good at listening to him, and his reasoning and logic had fallen on deaf ears. Honestly, he couldn’t blame her. He knew how close she was with her father, how desperate she was to get him back.

But this? This would work. This absolutely had to work. But what it would cost them...

What it _had_ cost them. It was past tense, now. Via had put her plan into motion.

The silence was deafening. On every face was written the same stunned, disbelieving shock. It didn’t matter whether you were a hero or a villain, a VK or an AK or an antihero. No one had expected an ending like this.

Via had reached back into her family’s past. She’d found the one thing that held more memories for her father than anything else. And she’d used it. She’d used it too well. It was her signature, the same thing that she’d used to bring the barrier down. And now it was her last resort to get her father back. The golden amber, mixed with the mystical black rocks of Corona, that had shattered the magical barrier of the Isle so gloriously. There was nothing glorious about it now. It stood there on the Neverland sand, a terrible monolith ripped straight out of the past.

And she was encased in it. She’d _let_ it encase her. She’d used the one thing her father feared most to remind of the thing he should have loved the most. She’d reminded him what really mattered, what was really real.

But she’d sacrificed herself to do it.

Gavin had known what she was going to do. But that didn’t make seeing her do it any easier. Seeing her like that, frozen in the same substance that had torn her family apart to begin with, nearly broke his heart. He could only hope it did the same for Varian.

He glanced over at Lady Caine. For once, Via’s mother had let her hardened mask slip. Her eyes were wide and stricken, every last drop of color drained from her face and one hand clapped over her mouth. Gavin’s own mother had stepped forward to take Caine’s arm as if the pirate captain had started to fall. And Gavin wouldn’t blame her if she had. Via had something most kids on the Isle didn’t...parents who cared what happened to her, who would have thrown themselves into harm’s way in a heartbeat if it meant she stayed out of danger.

But it wasn’t up to Caine, now. What happened next lay in the hands of one single person.

Even Cassandra looked surprised by what had happened. The Wand of Oblivium had fallen from her hand, its power temporarily forgotten.

No, not forgotten. Broken. Where he was standing, Gavin had a clear view of Varian’s face.

The alchemist had recoiled in shock, a sharp cry escaping his lips at the familiar crack of the growing amber, proving once and for all that his true memories were still in there somewhere. Via must have done something to the amber, something to speed it up, because it had completely encased her in less than ten seconds. And in those ten seconds, Varian’s blue eyes had filled with an expression of complete and utter terror.

“He remembers,” Gavin whispered to himself. “He knows what it is. If only he would remember who _she_ is.”

Slowly, slowly, Varian reached a hand toward the amber. It wasn’t lost on Gavin that his fingers were shaking. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, shaking his head as if he could somehow clear away the nightmare this day had become. But he couldn’t. It was right there in front of him. It was real.

“No,” he whispered. In the silence that had fallen over the assembled heroes and villains, that whisper was as loud as a thunderclap. “No, no, no.”

And then suddenly he was running, dropping to his knees at the base of the amber formation, lifting his hand up to where his daughter’s was pressed against the amber wall that kept her imprisoned. “No,” he repeated. “No, this can’t be happening. Via...my Via...”

He remembered her. He knew who she was. And he was too late.

Varian seemed almost frantic now, searching Via’s frozen face as if he could find the answer to every problem in the world written on it. “Via,” he said again, his voice breaking. “I’m so sorry...I should have remembered, I should have...I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

If there was one trait heroes had never possessed, it was the ability to keep their mouths shut at the right time. And Cassandra proved it now, squaring her shoulders and stepping forward. “Varian?”

Slowly the alchemist turned to face her. Her blue eyes were brimming with tears, but behind the tears they were steely and stone cold, the eyes of a true villain who had no intention of ever being anything else.

“Are you done now, Cassandra?” His voice was low and quiet and so threatening that even Gavin shuddered. “Is this enough for you now?”

“What are you talking about?” Cassandra snarled. But Varian looked past her as if she wasn’t there, his eyes finding Rapunzel in the throng of heroes.

“What about you, Rapunzel? Are you satisfied now?”

To Gavin’s surprise, the princess of Corona was crying too. “I never meant for this to happen,” she whispered. “I just wanted you back, Varian. I just wanted my friend back. That’s all. I never planned on any of this, I promise.”

Varian’s eyes flashed at those two final words. “Don’t,” he said darkly. “Don’t you dare.” He looked up into Via’s face again for a long moment, slowly rising to his feet. He flung a hand out to indicate the rest of good’s forces. “And the rest of you. Is this what you wanted? Do you feel like heroes now?”

“None of us planned on this,” King Ben pointed out quietly.

“You sure contributed to it,” Varian snapped. He looked back at Rapunzel. “Well? I’m still waiting on an answer, princess. Are you satisfied now? Have I suffered enough?” His voice broke. “You’ve taken everything from me now. Not just my father. No, that wasn’t enough. You had to banish me to the Isle. And when that didn’t work, you tried to take who I am. And now you’ve taken my daughter. There’s nothing left you can take. So are we done now?”

“You brought this on yourself,” Cassandra retorted. And Gavin, well, Gavin had never been a particularly violent sort of villain- he favored his mother’s more subtle tactics- but if there was one hero he would be more than happy to punch in the face, Cassandra was it.

Varian seemed to be thinking along similar lines. He shook his head, almost pityingly. “Just like a hero,” he growled. “You’re never responsible for anything, are you? It’s black or it’s white. No in-between. No admitting that you do plenty to exacerbate the situation. Or cause it in the first place, say, with a broken promise or two.” He caught his lip between his teeth, staring up at his daughter again. “Just like a hero,” he said again. “I can’t believe I was ever one of you. And mark my words, whatever magic you might try to make me one, it’s not gonna work again. I know what side I’m on. And now I know what I’ve lost at your hands. You’re not getting me back, Rapunzel. Your friend-“ he almost spit out the word- “died a long time ago. You made sure of that when you broke your promise. You ripped my family apart. And now you’ve done it again.” He laughed a little, a hard and bitter sound. “Fool me once, right?”

_And that’s my cue._

Gavin stepped forward, clearing his throat to catch Varian’s attention. Varian looked startled for a moment before his look of confusion suddenly cleared. “Gavin. Right. Of course. I’m assuming you’re the one who tried to snap me out of it? I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gavin said. “Look, magic’s powerful. It could have been a lot worse. But if you really mean what you just said, if you’re really dead set on being one of us again-“

“I am.” The look of hatred Varian directed at the forces of good would have made even the most hardened of villains tremble. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I’d even promise it, if I didn’t know how that goes for my family.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” Gavin slipped a hand into the pocket of his shirt, drawing out his own tiny little vial.

“What are you doing?” Caden demanded, stepping forward into a threatening stance. Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Well, you see, I consider myself the best friend-slash-henchman Via’s ever had.” He found Silas in the Auradon crowd. “Sorry, Sylvester, you don’t count. But as Via’s best friend, I’ve gotten to know her very, very well. So I knew, before she ever told me, what she would end up doing to get her father back. And generally Via’s the one who does the planning and plotting and what have you, but this wasn’t her best scheme ever. What good was having her father back if we lost her in the process? So I came up with a little plan of my own.” He held up the vial. “She came up with this a while ago for one of her weapons. She just didn’t know it can break the amber. I took it upon myself to find that out.”

“You can free her?” Varian’s voice was barely a whisper, as if it was too much to hope for.

“Of course I can free her. Your family might be known for evil geniuses and crazy plans, but mine’s known for always having a Plan B. But I can’t bring her back if there’s a chance she might lose you again. I won’t do that to her.”

Varian didn’t bother to answer. He took a few steps forward and snatched the Wand of Oblivium from where it had fallen from Cassandra’s hand. Before any of the heroes could move to stop him, he snapped it in two over his knee and tossed it aside. “Does that answer your question?”

Gavin smirked. “Perfectly.” He didn’t bother with anything fancy; that was a hero thing. He just threw the glass vial against the massive amber column. The effect was immediate; the golden substance melted away like snow in summer. Via, suddenly unsupported, nearly fell, but Gavin moved forward quickly to catch her. She drew in a sharp gasp, coughing a little, blinking too fast. “G-Gavin? But...but how?”

“For an evil genius, Vi, you can sure be an idiot sometimes,” he told her, pulling her into a tight hug against his shoulder. “You think I don’t know when my best friend is planning something dumb? No more of the self-sacrificing thing, okay? That’s a hero move. And you’re not one.” He released her, reaching out to steady her as she clambered unsteadily to her feet. 

“And neither,” he said softly, holding out a hand, “is somebody else.”

Via’s eyes went wide, flooding with tears. “Dad? It worked?”

“It worked, sweetheart.” Varian closed the distance in a few quick steps, wrapping his daughter in his arms. They were both crying, Gavin noticed. It might not have been the most villain-y reaction, but his best friend had never been a typical villain.

“Via, I’m sorry,” Varian whispered. “I’m so, so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Dad.” For a long moment Via stayed there, clasped in his embrace, tears streaming her face.

But Via was a villain. And that was something she couldn’t easily ignore. “It’s not your fault,” she repeated again as he let her go. “It’s theirs. So tell me, Dad, what are we going to do about it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry this was a day late! I really wanted to take my time with this penultimate chapter and ensure it was the best I could make it. I’m also out of state for Christmas, so I was a little bit jetlagged. But here I am, and as much as I’d like to do an emotional schpiel, I’ll save that for next week’s final chapter. Be sure to check back next week for the ending of Via’s story!


	20. Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Via and her family bring their story to an ending.

_** Six months later ** _

A fist pounded on Via’s door, accompanied by a voice. “Via! Gavin’s waiting, honey.”

“I’m already up, Dad,” Via called back, spinning around in her chair and offering her father a wide grin. “Last year of school. I’ve gotta kick it off right.” She tossed a tiny glass sphere up and down, watching the way the teal liquid inside splashed up and down. “If the hero kids think one little song-and-dance is gonna erase everything that happened, they’ve got another thing coming.”

In truth, “everything that happened” was a very vague term. No one really knew what “everything that happened” was. There were bits and pieces of the story, of course, but nothing concrete. Nothing that could be used to determine how it had reached its extremely unexpected ending.

After Varian’s surprising return to evil, and Via’s even more surprising unfreezing, Neverland had quickly devolved into a scene of chaos. For almost six months, the tension between heroes and villains had soared to record highs. Skirmishes in the streets were common, and no one ever knew what was going to happen one day to the next. And Auradon, blind as usual, had done its best to pretend everything was normal. Little by little, they’d reclaimed their kingdom, and then they’d gone on with their lives as if the villains and their efforts weren’t a concern at all. It had been an insult, a slap in the face, and the villains had retaliated by ramping up their attacks. And still Auradon had done its best to ignore them.

Until something had happened within Auradon itself. That was the fuzziest part of the whole thing, especially for the villains, who hadn’t been much involved in it. But little bits and pieces of the rumors had leaked out of Auradon, and the aftermath was something no one could hide. The unthinkable had happened in what had formerly been a perfect kingdom. A good girl had gone bad. Mal and her friends had been forced into the battle of their lives. Not a one of the villains could have given more details than that, but they knew what had happened after the fact. Something had happened to change the minds of Ben and Mal, and they had, rather stupidly, decided to call a ceasefire. They had extended the invitation for the villains to become citizens of Auradon. The invitation for anyone, regardless of who they or their parents had been, to go good. For the past to be put, once and for all, in the past.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime offer, and after a very long period of deliberation, most of the former villains had decided to take it. Amnesty was something Auradon didn’t often offer, and they had to take the deal while they still could. Eventually there were only a small handful of true villainous diehards, Maleficent and Ursula for example, who wanted things to stay divided, wanted good vs. evil to remain the everlasting fight it had been for years. And these few remaining supervillains, as they were now called, were the only ones who refused to accept what no one wanted to admit were terms of surrender.

In a move that surprised almost everyone, Varian and his family had decided not to be part of the small group of diehards. They’d done as most of the other villains had done- moved into Auradon and acted as upright and respectable as they could. They’d been offered a new start. And they were acting as if they’d taken it.

But that, of course, was all it was. An act. Varian and Via no longer wanted vengeance, not after everything that had happened, not after the way their family had nearly been torn apart. They had learned to be content with their original goal- keeping the family together. “But after everything I’ve gone through learning how to be evil,” Varian had explained on the day they moved, offering his familiar devilish smirk, “I’m not about to turn around and go good again. Maybe if they hadn’t wiped my memory, I’d give that a chance. But not now. They already tried to make me a hero once. Now I’m done being one, even if I have to be a villain in secret.”

They weren’t the only ones making the same decision. Among the former prisoners of the Isle, there was still plenty of resentment for Auradon’s heroes. King Ben’s supposedly generous invitation was seen by some as a trap, a way for Auradon to conveniently sidestep its wrongdoings and force the villains to forgive the wrongs that had been done to them. A way for the past to be smoothed over instead of confronted. And in the villain circles, that wasn’t something that went over too well. Sure, there were some villains who just wanted the do-over they’d agreed to, but the vast majority decided to turn the trap into an opportunity. Wait, they cautioned each other. Pretend to go along with the plan. Pretend to be good, pretend they’ve gotten their precious unity. And then, when they think it’s worked and they’ve dropped their guard, we do what villains have always done.

And so it was, on this brisk autumn day, that Via said her goodbyes to Varian and Caine and stepped out the door with Rudiger on her shoulder to do exactly what she had done so many months before. Go to school in Auradon and make them all believe she was a good girl. She had come full circle. And she wasn’t doing it for revenge this time. No, she was doing it simply because evil was who she was. She was Via the villain, and no one- not Rapunzel, not Cassandra, not Ben or Mal or anyone else- was going to change that. She was, when it came down to it, her father’s daughter. _So if you’re stupid enough to do the whole thing over again, Auradon, well, then, your wish is granted._

She quickened her pace as she spotted Gavin standing on the street corner. She reached up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, purposely knocking his glasses aside as she did it. They were a “thing” now, as Uma put it. That was the one heroic thing Via had finally allowed herself- true love. She’d almost had it with Silas, and a little piece of her had wanted it since then. “It took you forever to admit you wanted to move from hench-best-friend to hench-boyfriend,” she’d told Gavin once.

“Maybe,” he’d countered. “But it took you even longer to realize that was what I wanted all along.” And she couldn’t really argue with that. Sure, maybe it wasn’t the most villainous thing to do. Villains had no need for true love, after all. But villains also had a penchant for taking what wasn’t theirs, and Via was more than happy to do the same with the heroic hallmark of true love’s kiss. (And they always made sure to do something romantic, kissing or hand-holding or something along those lines, whenever they passed Silas. They were both careful to always get his name wrong, too. It was immensely satisfying for both of them).

“So what’s your dad working on today?” Gavin asked as they set off along the path to the now-restored Auradon Prep.

“Who knows? When I left, he was sitting at the table, madly sketching something or other. Which means he’s got some sort of idea. He’s a core member of the scheme committee, you know. Whatever wicked surprise we end up springing on the heroes once they drop their guard, he’s gonna be a big part of it.”

“And so are you. Especially now that you’re his official apprentice.”

“Shhh!” Via hushed him quickly, giggling at the way he immediately turned as red as his shirt. “Nobody’s supposed to know about that! I’m supposed to have turned over a new leaf, remember?”

“Sorry, sorry. As dramatic as my family tends to be, I don’t have your experience with living a lie.”

“You’ll get the hang of it. It’s fun, after a while. And envisioning the look on their faces when you finally let the truth come out? That’s the best part.”

“Well, that won’t happen for a while yet, this second time around. We have to wait until they’re comfortable enough with us that they don’t suspect we’ll do anything.”

“That’s alright,” Via answered. “I’m patient. The best evil plots take time. Look at your mom! She planned her steps out for eighteen years, and now she’s one of the most feared villains of all time. The longer we have to wait, the more time we have to make sure whatever plan we come up with is absolutely epic. So epic the story ends with us winning for once.”

“You know,” Gavin said, glancing at her with his familiar lopsided grin, “speaking of winning, this isn’t how I thought things would play out way back when you broke the barrier. That was a long time ago, and a lot’s happened that nobody could have predicted. I guess I never really pictured things ending up this way. Us having to play nice with the heroes and all. This isn’t the ending I counted on.”

“Me neither,” Via said. She was quiet for a long moment, and then suddenly she spoke again. “But you know what?”

Gavin slipped an arm around her, smiling as if he already knew what she was going to say. “What, Via?”

“It’s a happy ending anyway.” Via squeezed his hand, her other one lifting up to stroke Rudiger’s fluffy tail. “I’m happy, Gavin.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Via. I’m happy, too.”

They made their way down the street in a companionable silence for a minute or two. “Just promise me one thing,” Gavin said finally. “And yeah, I know how promises go for your family, but still. Promise me you’re not gonna stop being the villain I fell in love with just because we have to play good.”

Via had to laugh at that. “Gavin, have you even met me? Pretending to be a good girl was my whole thing in the first place. I don’t mind doing it again. But I’m still me. I’m still Via, and I’m still a villain. It’s like my dad said on Neverland. After everything the heroes have done, there’s no truce they could offer that would change that. We’ve picked our side, my parents and I. It’s the heroes’ fault if they’re stupid enough to believe there aren’t sides anymore. This kind of war never ends. Why do you think “good vs. evil” is every story ever?”

“Are there?” Gavin asked. “Still sides, I mean. Can we be who we are, can we be villains, if we can’t let anyone know that’s what we are?”

“Of course we can,” Via answered. “Someday we’re gonna get another chance, Gavin. And we’re gonna win it. I never really wanted revenge, not after my dad, but being told I should forget everything wrong Rapunzel and the rest of them ever did to us? That’s not a pill I’m gonna swallow. The game’s changed now, that’s all. Now the goal isn’t to be evil enough to overwhelm the heroes. Now the idea is to be evil without anyone knowing we are. And I happen to be good at that. I never met a villain who was afraid of going underground.”

Gavin smirked. “And someday soon we’ll have another scheme cooked up, and then the whole thing starts over again. Happy never after, right?”

“You know something?” Via said. “I spent so long trying to get a happy ending. But now I realize my family wasn’t ever cut out for one. So as long as my family’s together, and I’ve got you, then there’s still a “happy” in that last sentence. So never after? That’s fine with me.”

“And you’re ready for that? To go underground?”

In answer, Via reached up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I honestly can’t believe I’ve typed this series’ final words. Via and I have been through quite a lot in the years since I’ve started writing her. From a hiatus that went on far longer than planned to another author mimicking my work, this has been one of the hardest stories I’ve ever had to write. There were times when I wasn’t sure I would ever finish this series and times when I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
> 
> But Via deserves an ending, and I hope you were satisfied with this one. She’s my first OC and I’ve heard from so many people who have taken her to their hearts. I couldn’t just leave her story unfinished. I didn’t feel like it would be right to turn Via good, or leave Auradon destroyed, or bring the whole conflict to a definite end. Like Via says, good and evil is a battle that isn’t going away, and this whole story was about the evil side of things. So instead, I chose to incorporate a slightly different version of Descendants 3, bring the tale full circle and end Via’s story the way it began. Only this time around, she’s a lot stronger than she was before. The circumstances might not be different, but Via herself definitely is.
> 
> And honestly, so am I. Writing this story has taught me so much more than I thought it would when I started. I’ve been so honored and encouraged by the people who took Via and me to their hearts. I’m not going to go on too big of an emotional rant. I’m just going to say thank you to everyone who’s followed this whole incredible journey and seen my story through. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little adventure, and I hope it means as much to you as my readers mean to me. 
> 
> And with that, I’m going to end this whole thing the way every fairy tale should end, and hope you all live happily ever after.
> 
> The End.


End file.
